I'll Fight For You
by Hazelmist
Summary: "Then why won't you go out with me?" James asks quietly, looking down at me with blazing eyes. There are many reasons why I won't go out with him. 1 He's a selfish git. 2 He's not my type and 3..."You would hurt me."
1. Prologue

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**PROLOGUE**

_It's over. _

_I fought until there was nothing left in me, but he won in the end. Tears blind my vision, and I crumple to the floor before him not by choice, but by the workings of his curse. I'm begging him not to touch him. Take me. I don't care. Just don't take my son. He throws back his head and laughs, amused, and perplexed by me. He's not human. He has no heart. He doesn't understand love. The laugh chills my bones, and makes my blood run cold. And I know right then and there that it's over._

_I'm sorry. I love you both, but it seems that I've failed._

_I don't hear anything. My world has suddenly gone silent. The devil's lips are moving. I can see them mouthing those fatal words that I know will end my life. But I don't hear them._

_Suddenly, I'm hearing voices coming from all directions. They're echoes of my past life, flashes of my childhood, glimpses of familiar faces, and scenes of happier days._

_They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes._

_They're right... But they're wrong..._

_Only the parts that matter are seen in those brief moments before life leaves the body. Time seems to come to a standstill, and suddenly, I'm seeing it all over again. The moments of my past are relived, and I remember._

_The Happines._

_And The Sadness._

_The Friendships._

_And The Love._

_The Deaths._

_And Life..._

_It's all coming back to me..._

**A/N**: Here it is, my new story, my pet project since November 2004. It's much different from _Cursed_, or at least I think so. I had to put the Prologue by itself. You have to read the first chapter obviously before you get the idea of the story. Okay, so enjoy…

**Edited 1/09**


	2. An Awful Awakening

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer:** I own Shakespeare and Grace Adams. Of course everything else belongs to the marvelous JK Rowling.

**A/N**: The prologue starts the flashback. This chapter begins just before the start of Lily's sixth year and the story continues on from there.

**Chapter One: An Awful Awakening**

"WAKE UP!"

My dreams are shattered, and abruptly I find myself once again in the waking world. That horrible noise that you're hearing - you know that noise that sounds like a banshee having a bad day? That sound is actually my sister Petunia. But for some reason I don't believe that I'm actually hearing her. I crack open an eye, and yes, she's still there. I'm not dreaming. That's funny because I dreamed I that I was dead. But I'm not. Petunia's here in the flesh with me in my room. I almost smile, but as soon as she opens her mouth again I immediately frown, and clap my hands over my ears.

I swear I heard a window crack.

"SHUT UP!" I yell. And she does. Amazingly!

She smirks at me, a smug look on her horse shaped face even as she cranes her long neck out the window to steal a glimpse at the neighbor's back yard. Usually she yells at me, but today she's only silent. What's her problem? As if she heard me, she turns to me and announces,

"It's September first."

"Congratulations, Petunia! You now officially know the months and days of the year." I clap my hands, and roll my eyes at her stupidity. In case you haven't figured it out yet, my sister and I don't get along.

"Lily, it's September 1st," she repeats.

God, she is so stupid. I know it's great for her to learn the dates and everything, but really, I only need to know what day it is once and not every five seconds.

"So I've heard," I say dryly, snuggling back into the warm sheets of my bed.

Petunia snickers as if she knows something I don't. It doesn't bother me though. She's so gossipy, that if she is trying to keep something from me she automatically blurts it out within three seconds. And this time is no different.

"Leave me alone Petunia," I groan, not in the mood for some of the latest details about Vernon - the beefy boy that lives across the street.

Of course Petunia is practically ready to explode. So, yes, about five seconds later she spills.

"Lily, don't you know that today is-" I cut her off.

"It's September 1st! I know Petunia that it's September 1st! Now for the last time stop telling me that it's Sept-"

Oh, crap.

I sit upright in my bed. My head whips to the window where the sun's out bright and shining. Then I glance at my calendar. The dates are all crossed off except for one. September 1st. That's today. And underneath it Kings Cross is written in my untidy handwriting.

"What time is it!" I yell, leaping out of bad and lunging toward the clothes that I left out the night before.

"Ten o'clock," Petunia replies, after an extremely drawn out pause. She's smirking again. I wish I could wipe that smirk right off her face, but just when I'm considering it, my mom walks in.

"Lily, are you ready? Lily! We have to go! You have to be there honey! Why aren't you ready?" my mom asks, her mouth dropping.

Uh, sorry mom. I had a dream that I died and so I slept through both my alarms. But of course I couldn't explain this to my mom because she wouldn't understand. I mean, how many people dream about their deaths? And I don't even really remember what happened. All I remember was these scary psycho red eyes, and lips mouthing something. Then everything went really quiet, and time slowed down. It was sort of cool, but it was really scary. I shudder remembering the laugh I heard just before time came to a standstill. It's been haunting my dreams a lot lately.

Before I can explain - which I wasn't going to - but at least before I could give her a good excuse, my father knocks on the door.

"Lily?"

My mother shuts the door impatiently before he can enter. My poor father gets his fingers stuck in the door. Ouch. But my mother is too frazzled to notice. It seems that she overslept as well, and that we're all behind schedule.

"I don't want to rush you Lily, but I don't want to get stuck in traffic like we did last year. So, I think that we should probably get going soon," my father calls through the door.

"She's getting dressed Matt," my mother responds.

"Okay she's - she's what!? But it's already ten o'clock! We left at nine last year, and Lily nearly missed the train!"

"I know Matthew!" my mom snaps as I frantically finish dressing, and the two of us start collecting my things and tossing them into the trunk. Petunia just sits there on the windowsill watching us. See! I do have a reason to hate her. I don't even have time to toss her a glare, because I'm too busy trying to gather up my things.

"Petunia, for God's sake get up and do something!" my mother finally scolds.

"Okay fine!"

Petunia gets up, but moves at an unbearably slow pace. Instead of placing things into my trunk she's picking them up and looking at them. Things she's never allowed to see - not that she hasn't tried before - are suddenly at her fingertips. The first thing she sees with those tiny grey eyes of hers is my diary. She swoops down and grabs it before I make a dash for it.

She knows I can't do anything. The moment I ask for the object back my mom's going to want to see it. I love mom dearly but she's been dying to know if I have a love life, and she can't understand why I don't have one. I caught her once or twice in my room looking through my drawers because she knows I keep a diary she's just never seen it before. Poor mom. I sort of feel bad because I used to tell her everything when I was little, but now it's different.

"Give it back to me Petunia!" I growl, as she scampers up onto the windowsill. I race toward her, ready to sock her, but the damage is already done.

"Why Lily, I thought you didn't keep a diary!" she exclaims, when I'm less than a foot away.

My mother's head snaps up, and suddenly the packing is forgotten. I see that look in her eyes. And I really do feel bad. I really do wish I could tell her everything. She understands me so well when we talk about "me". "Me" as in the person I used to be or little naive ten year old Lily. And I'm sure she would understand teenage Lily too. But I can't tell her anything.

You see, there are just some things that no matter how hard I try to explain, and no matter how hard she tries to comprehend she would never be able understand. And so she has to resort to this: stealing my diary. Even if it means missing the train.

I want to kill Petunia, because I know I can't let Mom see what's in that. I'm going to have to rip it from her grasp, and break Mom's heart all over again. And then she's going to look at me sadly. And then…

I wish I could tell you Mom, but I want to keep you safe. I don't want you to have dreams about death and I don't want you to have to live like I do. Because you'll never understand, because you're not a wit-

CRASH!

Petunia screams, and leaps off the windowsill. I jump up into the air and catch the diary, stuffing it into the deepest darkest corners of my trunk. Turning, I see that both Petunia and my dear mom have forgotten about the diary. Petunia is screeching like a banshee again, and pointing at the window. My mom is rushing over to the window, and talking to something. Immediately I deliberately step on the cowering Petunia, and run to my mother's side.

My mother smiles, and closes the window. When she turns around I see what she's holding so gingerly in her arms and I have to laugh.

The two of us share a knowing smile and a short laugh as she gently transfers the injured owl that just slammed into our window to my waiting arms.

"Will Shakespeare be okay?" I ask concerned, even though I'm partly amused, since the familiar creature - which happens to be my best friend's pet - just slammed into our window for the hundredth time.

"He'll be fine," my mother says, smoothing down Shakespeare's feathers. The owl opens its eyes and suddenly comes to life. It scrambles to its feet with its wings unfurling. I barely have time to snatch the letter from its leg, before it takes off and flies over to the opposite side of the room.

Petunia screams again and dives underneath the bed.

"Oh, you poor, poor baby. Come here beautiful," my mother coos. But she's not talking to Petunia. She's talking to the owl, attempting to coax it down from its post atop my bureau. Once the owl sees my mother it flies down and lands on her shoulder. And my mother walks out of the room, talking about a very special owl treat that she has waiting for it.

Now, you may think it's weird that an owl just flew into my room. But really it isn't. It's an every day occurrence in my life, and my mom who loves all animals has taken quite a fancy to the frequent resident of our household. Even if he is a little flighty. Honestly, I think the owl spends more time here at my house then with my best friend. And you probably think that my best friend's a freak since she has an owl for a pet and she's not in a loony bin yet. And you're probably wondering why I am still friends with her. But where she lives, everyone has owls.

I guess I better explain. You see, I, Lily Evans, am not your average teenage girl. I'm a witch.

There I said it.

So, now you know why I'm receiving a letter from my best friend's pet owl. And now you can see why I can't really talk to my mom, because she isn't a witch. Oh, don't get me wrong, she loves the fact that I'm a witch and so does my Dad. But some people –

"GET THAT THING OUT OF HERE!" My sister's sweet voice carries all the way from the kitchen, up to my room on the second floor. Ha ha. I take it Shakespeare found Petunia. I can hear her screaming like she's about to be murdered. Shakespeare wouldn't hurt a fly, and besides he's probably nowhere near her.

"I SWEAR IF I SEE ONE MORE OWL FOR THAT FREAK!"

That freak would be me.

"PETUNIA!"

My sister falls silent at my mom's shout, but the damage is already done. I'm used to it though. My sister and I used to talk, but then when I turned eleven an owl arrived saying that I was a witch, and that I was going to a school called Hogwarts to learn about witchcraft and wizardry and meet tons of other witches and wizards my age. My sister couldn't accept this, and well, you see the result. We hate each other now. I used to care, but now it doesn't matter anymore. In fact, it's easier this way for me.

I sigh, and sit down on the bed, trying to ignore whatever my sister's screaming about now (something about someone's head appearing in the fireplace). I almost forgot about the letter in my hand because I was so caught up in my thoughts. And then there was the whole train incident…

Oh, no! The train!

Oh Merlin, I've got to go right now! I jump off the bed and throw open my door.

"MOM I'M GOING TO MISS THE TRAIN!"

And then I run into someone. I literally ran into the body at full force. I swear there was no way I could stop myself. I had no idea that someone was going to be right outside of my room. He's not prepared either, because with a muffled yelp we smash into the opposite wall of the upstairs hallway and nearly fall to the ground.

"OW!" He yells as I hear their head connect with my mother's favorite portrait.

I look up expecting to find my nosy sister, my concerned mother, or my anxious father, but it's not any of them. In fact, it's the very last person I expect to find in my household.

My mouth drops, and my eyes must have gotten huge. I'm so shocked to see him inside my house that I can't move. I just sit there, crushing him against the wall and my mother's favorite portrait. I don't even notice that he's holding me, and that I'm clinging to him, and that we're closer then we've ever been in all the five or six years that I've known him. Our faces are so alarmingly close that I can feel his breath on my face, and that is extremely scary.

You know this could have been a very romantic moment. If only it had been any other guy. Even beefy spoiled Vernon Dursley from across the street would've been better then the guy that I'm currently clinging to that's holding me so painfully close to his body.

I blink, hoping he will go away and be replaced with a handsome Prince Charming ready to give me a kiss that would sweep me off my feet. But unfortunately of all the millions of eligible bachelors in the world it had to be him.

The most arrogant, bullying, self-centered, conceited, inconsiderate, perverted, selfish, big headed human being on the face of the earth…

"JAMES POTTER GET YOUR SLIMY HANDS OFF OF ME!"

He looks a little taken aback by my little outburst. But when he sees how serious I am, his hands start moving right away. Not fast enough though. He's like Petunia, moving slower than a constipated snail, and allowing his hands to pass over all the forbidden things that he'll never get another chance to touch.

My hands creep up to his collar, and I start pulling him toward me, only to throw him back against the wall with all my might. His head connects once more with the portrait, with a sickening crack, and another "OW!" followed by a few profane words that would make my mother's eyes widen.

That should teach him a lesson.

He closes his eyes and whimpers, touching the back of his head that connected not once but twice with the family portrait. What a big baby he is! He's moaning as if he's on his death bed and he's not even bleeding!

"Damn you Evans!" he hisses.

"You were asking for it Potter." I smirk.

If I'm lucky, he's got a one hell of a bump on the back of his head. It's a shame that it wasn't on the front of his face where everyone could see it. By the sound of his exaggerated complaints, the bump should last for quite a while. Perhaps, it will be a reminder to his wandering hands that my body is off limits.

Sadly, it probably won't get through that thick skull of his. James Potter seems to believe that he's god's gift to woman. With his messy black hair, his wild hazel eyes, his _adorable_ smile, his _charming_ manner, and his oh so _suave _moves Potter seems to believe that he has every girl at Hogwarts drooling, staring, worshipping, and kissing the ground that he walks on.

But he doesn't have _every _girl at Hogwarts brainwashed to think of him as their god. At least not yet…

There a few highly intelligent females who know that he's really biggest scum bag on the planet.

First, there's me. I personally hate - no, I despise Potter. He's so full of himself. He's always bullying everyone else. And for those few individuals who don't hold the door open for him or get down on their hands and knees and pray to him he makes sure that they pay the consequences.

It's disgusting to watch how everyone else kisses the hem of his robes, and practically licks his shoes. I swear if he told them to jump off a bridge they would gladly do it before he even finished saying the word bridge. I'm embarrassed and humiliated to call myself a female student at Hogwarts after watching some of those girls do back flips through flaming hoops just to get a mere glance from his direction.

Thankfully there are others who feel the same as I do.

Like…

Um…

Well, there are others. Their names have just slipped my mind temporarily.

As I sit here racking my brain for the missing names, someone's running up the steps. I look at James, who's still leaning against the wall trying to get an ounce of sympathy out of me (which is not going to happen in a million years). But suddenly, it hits me that James Potter is a male in my house, and that someone's going to see him. Automatically my brain kicks into panic mode. If my father sees his little girl within five feet of anything even remotely male, both James and I are dead. Daddy is very over protective of me. He seems to believe that all boys and men are going to hurt me. He doesn't seem to grasp the concept that I am a sixteen year old witch that can take care of herself.

Oh, don't get me wrong, he knows I'm not weak. He just loves me a lot, and he just doesn't trust guys at all.

My heart leaps into my throat. I have to do something!

Impulsively I grab James, and pull him into the bathroom. Then I lock the door behind us. James's eyes widen behind his glasses, when he sees me locking the door.

"Evans what--" I cover his mouth with my hand, immediately silencing him with my most urgent, desperate look.

I listen for the sound of the footsteps but it seems that they stopped. Slowly I remove my hand from James's mouth, and pressing a finger to my mouth, I tiptoe over to the door. I press my ear against it trying to listen. But I can't hear a thing because someone's breathing loudly in my ear.

I look up and come within inches of James's face. He's practically breathing down my neck. What is it with him? Does he always have to get so close to people? Doesn't he realize that it annoys people?

"Shut up!" I hiss.

"I'm not saying anything," James whispers back, a little too loud for my liking.

"You're breathing too loudly."

"I'm so sorry Ms. Evans. I'll just stop breathing altogether," James says sarcastically.

"Could you? Thanks that would do the world all a huge favor." I press my ear against the door again but once again I'm distracted.

James is panting in my ear. The git! He's doing it on purpose just to annoy me.

"Potter, I told you to stop breathing!" I snap.

"I can't, and even if I could I wouldn't!"

"Well, you better change your mind, because I can't hear a thing with you over there breathing like you just ran a marathon."

"Evans, I could hear you breathing from the other side of the room."

"It's amazing you can hear anything else when you're panting like a thirsty hot dog."

James starts laughing at my choice of words. He's so loud. He doesn't even bother to muffle it.

"Shut up!" I say, hitting him.

"Make me," he challenges, smirking.

James just laughs louder as I hit him again with a little more force. But it's hard to sock someone when you're squished against them in a small bathroom that you barely fit into. I try to cover his mouth again, but James is stronger then me and pushes my hands away. Instead he grabs my arms in his hands, holding me captive. The laughter stops and he smirks.

"So Evans, why don't you tell me why you locked us both inside of the bathroom." I squirm trying to pull my arms free, but James just tightens his hold on me.

"I was trying to save your life, but that obviously proved to be a mistake."

James looks both puzzled and stunned. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?

"You care about me Evans?" he asks.

Oh! How I hate him! Right now, I really wish I had left him out in the hallway. Or better yet, I should've told my Dad that he was harassing me. Why did I think for a second that the ungrateful spoiled brat would thank me? Why on earth would I ever wish to save his life? What possessed me to do that?

"You wish Potter!"

I pull back with all my might, and finally come loose from his grip. Then I fling open the door, and the two of us stumble into the hallway. Immediately, a hand grabs James and forcefully lifts him to his feet.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute! I turned my back on you for a second and you were gone! What in the Wizarding World were you thinking!" I get to my feet, and find to my delight that a tall raven haired girl is scolding James.

I recognize that voice immediately. When the girl turns her head, I find myself looking into yet another familiar face. As soon as her blue eyes meet mine she breaks into a grin.

"Gracie!" I yell, throwing my arms around her.

"Lily!" she squeals, hugging me.

Grace Adams is my best friend. We've been friends since we first started Hogwarts together, five years ago. We met in Diagon Alley with Potter, and then later we shared a boat with Potter, and then we were both sorted into Gryffindor with Potter. Even though I've only known her for five years, I feel like we've known each other our whole life.

The fact that she's immune to the Potter charm only strengthens our friendship. Gracie is related to James. Don't ask me how, but they're cousins, or second cousins, or something like that. I look at my best friend, and then back at James. How could someone so incredibly kind and selfless share the same blood as this selfish prat standing beside us?

If they hadn't told me I would have never believed that they were related. Gracie doesn't even look like him. Well, except for having the same hair color, and the same nose, she looks nothing like him.

I'm hoping that Grace is going to start scolding her cousin again, but she doesn't. Instead she looks at both of us.

"What were you doing in the bathroom?" she asks with a mischievous grin.

"NOTHING!" I shout.

"We were--"

"—doing NOTHING!" I interrupt, giving him a fierce glare. If he tries to make something up, I'm going to make sure that he wishes he was never born.

"Evans, we spent a whole blissful ten minutes in there, and you say that we were doing nothing? I'm hurt," James says with a very bad imitation of a sad face.

I punch his arm, hard. James yelps, and grabs his injured arm with yet another interesting curse word. When Gracie gives us a look, James immediately points the finger at me.

"She's trying to kill me, Gracie! First, she knocks me over when I arrive, and then she tries to crack my skull open with the family portrait!"

My mouth drops. He forgot to mention the part where he showed up in my house unexpected, and uninvited, and then he wouldn't let go of me.

"Lily!" Gracie groans.

"He was groping me!" I yell defensively.

"James!" Gracie hits him upside the head, her eyes flashing.

"I did not!" James lies.

"Then why did you have her locked in the bathroom with you?" Gracie demands.

James again blames me.

"Evans abducted me! After she unsuccessfully tries to kill me with a family portrait, out of the blue she grabs me and pulls me into the bathroom with her. Then she locks the door behind us, and tells me to shut up and be quiet. If that's not a murder waiting to happen, then I'll eat my sneaker," he says, feigning innocence.

"You better eat it, because I was trying to save your life!"

"So, you admit that you care about me Evans!" James grins triumphantly.

My blood's boiling. Boy, do I regret saving the git's life.

"Hell no!"

"Yes you do."

"I do not!"

"Come here Evans." He tries to grab me, but I shriek and hide behind Gracie. James tries to get around Gracie, but I wrap my arms around her and bury my head into her back.

"Please Gracie, make him leave me alone," I beg.

Gracie sighs, but when I refuse to let go of her, she tells James to sod off or she'll tell his mom. James immediately stops trying to chase after me, and I come out from behind my protective shield.

"You love me Evans," he whispers to me, when Gracie's not looking. She's rummaging around in her pockets for something.

"Only in your dreams Potter," I snort

"Will you two knock it off?" Gracie snaps.

"I wasn't doing anything!" we both say at the same time.

"Sure you weren't." Gracie at last finds what she is looking for, and removes it from her pocket. Her eyes widen and she stuffs the object back into her pocket.

"What?" I ask.

"Do you have your stuff?" she demands, looking around.

"It's in my room," I answer, blankly.

"Where's your room?" Gracie asks.

She's never been to my house before, neither has James. I suddenly realize how strange it is that they're here now. And my parents, wouldn't they have noticed that two teenagers showed up at my house? Not to mention that one of them was a teenage BOY. How weird.

I lead the way to my room. I hold the door open for Gracie, but slam the door in James's face. There's no way that he is coming into my room.

"Evans's trying to kill me again!" he whines, banging on the door. "Come on, let me in!"

"So this is your room?" Gracie asks softly, walking around and looking at all the objects cluttering my desk. She pauses to pick up a book here, and there, and a small photograph of my parents.

"Yea, home sweet home," I reply glumly. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" she exclaims flopping down on my bed.

I smile and sit down on the bed beside her. I've missed her. My summer was so lonely, and boring, and now suddenly my best friend, and of all people, Potter, show up inside my house. I look at Gracie.

"Gracie?"

"Yea?"

"Um, what are you doing here?" I ask curiously.

Gracie who is currently inspecting the stuff on my bedside table, suddenly freezes. The moving portrait of Gracie, me, and our fellow dorm mates drops from her hands with a clatter. Hurriedly, she stands up, and moves to replace it in its original place.

"You know why I'm here Lily."

"Uh no, I don't think I do."

Gracie looks at me, frowning.

"Didn't you read my letter?" she asks sharply.

"You never sent me a let--" I stop. My hand automatically goes to my pocket where I put the unread letter that had arrived only minutes before James's unexpected arrival. In my haste to catch the train, I never even thought to read it. Oh crap, the train!

"We're going to miss the train!" I exclaim, springing to my feet.

Gracie laughs darkly, a weird expression crossing her face. Something's wrong.

"Forget about the train, it's not leaving today."

"What?"

"I take it you didn't read my letter," she says with a sigh, nodding to the letter in my hand.

"I'm sorry. I meant to, but I thought I was going to miss the train. And then my sister was yelling, and James showed up, and now you're both here. And you're telling me that the train isn't leaving, and I'm so confused. Can you please tell me what's going on?" I beg.

"I guess it's better if I tell you in person anyway." Gracie runs a hand through her hair, pacing for a moment. Then she stops and makes a gesture toward the bed.

"You better sit down, because this might come as a bit of a shock to you," she says.

Obediently I sit down. My heart's thudding in my chest, and I realize that I'm scared of whatever she's going to tell me. I notice for the first time as Gracie paces back and forth in front of me, wringing her hands, how upset and anxious she looks. It just adds to my growing fear.

"Just tell me!" I blurt out, unable to take it anymore.

Gracie takes a deep breath and faces me.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE LET ME IN!"

Count on James to ruin everything. The selfish brat only thinks of himself. He's threatening to break down the door, and if he's not careful, he just might. I get up fully intending to give him a piece of my mind.

"LET ME IN!"

"NO!"

"GRACIE! MAKE HER OPEN THE DOOR!" James yells.

"Let him in," Gracie says, softly.

I open my mouth to protest, but Gracie shakes her head at me.

"Please Lily, just do it."

Sulkily, and reluctantly, I open the door and let the spoiled brat inside. He smirks at me, and I stick my tongue out at him. Real mature, Lily. Real mature. I close the door again, and James goes over to Gracie. The two of them are holding a whispered conversation when I turn around, but stop as soon as I come within hearing distance.

"Alright," I demand, folding my arms over my chest, and sitting down on the bed in front of them. "You're going to tell me right now what's going on."

**A/N**: So that's the first REAL chapter. What do you think?

**Edited 1/09**


	3. Broken Beginnings

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **I own _Shakespeare, Grace (Lily's best friend), Christopher,_ _Mark_ and _Hope_. Oh and I suppose _See_ and _Strangeways_ are mine as well. Of course everything else belongs to the amazing JK Rowling.

**Chapter 2: Broken Beginnings**

Gracie and James exchange an uneasy look. A long pause follows, and the two of them seem to be engaged in a silent struggle.

"Well, tell her Gracie," James says, finally. See, he's so selfish!

"Me?" Gracie squeaks. "You were the one who wanted to come along."

Typical James, as usual he's only thinking of himself.

"But she's your best friend!" James protests, weakly.

"Then why did you come?"

"Guys-" I try to cut in but James talks over me.

"I needed to come, because you can't travel by yourself."

"Uh, guys-" I clear my throat and interrupt, but Gracie is on a roll.

"I am perfectly capable of taking myself! I'm a sixteen year old witch who's a hell of a lot smarter then you."

Go Gracie! Take that James!

"I'm not questioning that, and you know it," James says, lowering his voice.

Gracie and James stare at each other, and I almost have a heart attack. James is serious. What's going on? James is never serious! Never! Something is so wrong, and I am so in the dark right now. Literally, a shadow has passed over me. I look up trying to find the source of the darkness and find a large black thing in my window, blocking the sunlight. I almost scream, but then I realize that it's only an abnormally large owl tapping at my window.

James walks over and opens the window, allowing not one but three owls to fly inside.

A large barn owl flies over to me, dropping yet another letter into my lap. Instead of sticking around, it turns and soars out the window into the sky. The second owl is Shakespeare, and immediately lands on Gracie's shoulder. A big black owl remains perched on the window sill, and James cautiously approaches it.

"Well that was fast," Gracie says to Shakespeare, taking the letter.

Hurriedly, we both open our letters and read the contents.

"My parents say it's alright if you stay with us Lily. Mind you, I was going to bring you home even if they said no. Shakespeare stop pecking at me, I have no more owl treats," Gracie laughs.

I have to read my letter a second time.

_Dear Ms. Evans, _

_Due to the circumstances, the first day of the Hogwarts school year has been postponed to September 4__th__. The train will leave from King's Cross at nine a.m. on September the 4__th__. We're terribly sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. _

_Sincerely, _

_Robert F. See_

_Head of the H.S.B._

_Hogwarts School Board_

"September the 4th?! What?!"

Gracie calmly takes the letter from me, glances over it and then hands it back to me.

"You got yours late. James and I got ours last night, but I suppose they're going crazy over there because of everything that happened."

"What happened?" I ask. I think I'm going to go insane if someone doesn't tell me what's going on within the next three seconds.

But before she can reply, James interrupts. As usual, the boy has perfect timing. He taps Gracie on the shoulder and hands her a letter. I think about forcing him to tell me, but James has a dazed expression on his face, and looks a little shaken up. I've never seen him like this before. I watch as Grace finishes the black owl's letter. Her eyes widen and all of the color drains from her face.

"James," she whispers. "Is this true?"

"It must be," James replies, softly.

"What? What?" I ask.

Neither James nor Grace answers me. They're absorbed by the letter they're currently pouring over for the third time.

"What?" I ask again. I'm sick and tired of being in the dark. Don't they realize how this is driving me insane? "What's true? What's going on? What happened? Why is school delayed? Why did that owl give you that letter? What does it say? Why are you here?"

James looks up as if noticing that I'm here for the first time. He elbows Grace, and she looks up and sees me too. It's as if they didn't even hear me. I would repeat myself but that scared look in their eyes, and those sad expressions on their faces are new to me.

"I think we should get going," James says, nudging Gracie, who seems to be in a trance.

"Get going, yea, we really should g-g-get g-g-going," Gracie repeats, stammering. She glances at the letter, reads it a final time and then tries to stuff it into her pocket. Her hands are shaking so badly that she can't do it. James takes it from her and places it in his own pocket.

"Get your stuff Lily," James says.

"Tell me what's going on," I demand.

"Look, we'll tell you when we get there. Let's just get out of here."

The two of us stand there staring at each other. I open my mouth, but instead of ordering him to tell me everything, I notice James looking at Grace and close it.

I'm not going to take orders from him. But Grace looks so helpless standing there beside James that I have to break one of my rules to live by and do exactly what Potter wants me to do.

I get my stuff. James takes Grace by the arm and I lead us from the room.

"Where's the fireplace again?" James asks.

"The fireplace? Is that how you got here?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. No wonder Petunia was having a hissy fit.

"The Floo network."

I don't even ask. Just this once I'm going to have to make an exception and try to cooperate with Potter. Just this once! And it's only because it's such a rare circumstance. So I bring them downstairs and into the living room, that's now mysteriously empty.

"Shouldn't I tell my parents?" I ask, realizing why it's so quiet.

"Gracie already told them you're coming to stay with us," James replies, taking something from a pouch from his pocket.

"The fire went out," he mutters, taking his wand out now and pointing it at my unsuspecting fireplace. He tries to light a fire, but nothing happens. James looks at his wand, and I try hard not to laugh. James must have noticed because he turns to me.

"If you're so smart, why don't you try?" he asks, sharply.

"Fine, I will," I take out my wand from my pocket and smugly point it at the fireplace. But no flames emerge. Now I'm the one looking at my wand, confused and puzzled. James smirks.

"Not so smart anymore, are you Evans?" he says, smartly.

"James," Gracie groans and closes her eyes.

"Not so cocky anymore, are you Potter?" I retort.

"James!" Gracie says louder, tugging on his sleeve.

James immediately sees to his cousin and I hurry over to her, seeing what kind of condition she's in. She looks as if she's about to be sick.

"What is it?" he asks, gently. "What is it Gracie?" he asks again, taking her hands in his.

"The Floo Network," she says swallowing hard. She's having difficulty speaking, because she's swallowing so much. Is she sick? Did the letter make her ill? "It's shut down," she manages to spit out after some gentle coaxing on James's part.

"What?" James and I ask at the same time, stunned.

"Ministry…" Grace chokes, wiping furiously at her mysteriously watery eyes. "Lock down, no Floo network." She coughs, turning her back on us to attend to her runny eyes. It appears that my friend has caught a cold from the black owl's letter.

James and I stare at each other.

"The Floo network's-"

"- been shut down," James finishes my sentence.

We continue to stare at each other. Now I'm really confused, and really scared. I'm not even sure if I want to know what could be so bad that would make the Ministry go into lock down and shut down the floo network not to mention delay Hogwart's opening.

"Mother of Merlin!" James runs a hand through his hair. I have to sit down and by the looks of it, so does James. I grab James and pull him over to the couch. The two of us sit down on the couch opposite Grace, who curls up in my father's arm chair.

"We're stuck here!" Grace moans, breaking the rare silence.

"No we're not," James assures her but he sounds almost as lost as Gracie looks.

"YES WE ARE!" she shouts, her voice cracking.

I get a good look at her face, and any feeling of dread, terror and fear that I had before is now multiplied by a hundred. Her eyes are red rimmed and puffy, and her pale cheeks are streaked with tears. She's crying, my god, Grace Adams is crying.

My eyes must be deceiving me, they must be! Grace Adams has never cried before in her life! Never! She didn't cry when that Slytherin broke her leg in Quidditch (POTTER'S fault), or when a group of Slytherins humiliated us in front of the entire school (because of POTTER). She didn't even think of crying when Filch threatened to expel us (thanks to POTTER). In all these scenarios, I did start to cry, being the cowardly wimp that I am, but Gracie was there to hold me up and never, ever did she shed a single tear.

But she's shedding tears now, lots of them. I don't think James has ever seen her cry before either, because he's shaking too, and he keeps looking at me with this weird expression on his face. Our eyes meet, and I see now the truth in my theory, we're both terrified. I don't even know what's going on and I'm scared!

A sob escapes Gracie's mouth, as she hides her head once more. Feeling brave, I leave James behind and walk over to her. Her shoulders are visibly shaking with silent convulsive sobs. And now I'm trembling like a leaf.

Grace always comforted me, not the other way around! Gracie was the pillar of strength, the one that held us both up. Not me! She was always so strong, so brave. What could possibly be so bad, so terrible, so awful that could possibly make her break down and cry like this!?

"Grace?" I ask fearfully, tapping her shoulder.

She doesn't respond, but instead turns away from me, stuffing her face into a cushion. How can I comfort her when I don't even know what's going on or why she's crying? (Again it's thanks to the selfish spoiled brat that I don't know anything.)

"Gracie," I whisper, gently.

Shakily, I lay my hands on her shoulders, wrapping my arms around her. She freezes. But then she starts to move away. I bite down hard on my lip and try not to let go of her squirming form. She struggles against me, but for once I'm the stronger one, and she tires quickly of the fight. I hold her quivering form in my arms, restraining her movement.

And then she crumbles, dissolving into loud sobs, clinging to me, as if I'm the only thing that could hold us up. I'm unprepared for it all, but somehow I manage to hold her, and calm her, and comfort my best friend, repaying her for all the times that she was there for me. I'm not really there though, someone else seems to have taken control of the body of Lily Evans and is directing my movements. It's surreal. Grace Adams, my pillar of strength and my best friend is crying, Hogwarts is delayed, the ministry has gone into lock down and James Potter is sitting in the same room as me with his head between his hands, looking more humble and serious than he ever has in his life. I stayed there, for who knows how long, the minutes and hours bled together, and Gracie cried so much that she wore herself out entirely. My Mom returned and left, and next thing I know James is trying to take Gracie away from me.

"No," I whisper, weakly shaking my head as he tries to untangle her arms from mine. Glancing down I see that she's sound asleep. Again James tries to move her, but I shake my head and move myself, leaving Gracie curled up in the arm chair.

"Lily-"

I press a finger to my lips, throwing a meaningful glance in Gracie's directions. I touch his arm and point toward the adjoining room.

"We can talk in there," I mouth to him. James nods and silently we tip toe into the kitchen.

James pulls a chair out for me, and I drop right into it. Hesitantly, he takes the seat beside me. For a few minutes the two of us just sit in silence, staring blankly ahead of us. The silence is unbearable. I have to say something, this is just too awkward!

"I didn't want to wake her," I say, finally.

"I know," he replies, nodding again.

Again we lapse into silence. I can't resist looking at James. He's so, so… serious. No not Sirius that's his best friend. He's almost as perverted and cocky as Potter. If it wasn't for Remus, the only semi-normal one in their little play group, I swear their heads would get to be the size of Hogwarts and explode. But right now Potter, is well, solemn. He looks as if the Quidditch game's just been canceled, oh wait, it probably was.

Maybe that was it, maybe Gracie was crying over Quidditch. I mean she loves Quidditch. Only Potter loves Quidditch more than she does. But my best friend isn't that shallow. No, Gracie would never cry over a Quidditch game. Potter would, but not Gracie.

I glance over at James again, and find him looking right at me. Even if he is a stuck up spoiled brat, James Potter, has always looked like a half decent guy upon first glance. That lasts for about a second, then you get a real good look at him, and you see that he's actually full of himself and a perverted jerk. But now, the usual get-down-on-your-knees-and-worship-me look is gone from his face. And I have to admit he's kind of-

"Lily?" James interrupts, causing me to blink and arrive back on planet earth. But that alien (that has temporarily taken over Potter's body) is still there and looks genuinely concerned about my well being, and not about whether he can get me in a closet with them.

"What?" I ask, confused and a little embarrassed.

"I asked if you wanted something to eat or some tea," James, or rather the alien, says.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'll have some tea I guess," I mumble, so that he'll get up and leave the table.

But James, as always, never leaves when I ask him too.

He stays there watching me. I fidget in my seat, examining the fascinating design of the wooden table top. A minute goes by and he's still looking at me and he still hasn't moved from the chair. He's making me uncomfortable. Nervously, I tap the table top keeping time with a popular song from the magical world that I can't remember the words to. His hand flies out and captures mine, freezing the nervous movement of my fingers. Reluctantly I look up at him.

"Lily, are you alri-"

"I'll make the tea," I interrupt, jumping up from the chair. Unfortunately, James is still holding onto my hand. I try to gently pull my hand away, but James just tightens his hold.

"You're avoiding the question," he points out softly. His eyes never leave mine.

"Can you please let go?" I ask politely, ignoring the question for the second time. James doesn't appear to hear me because now he's holding on so tightly, that I think he's cutting off my circulation. I don't think he realizes he's holding my hand and restraining me. His mind has already left and that blank, dazed look is back on his face.

With an apologetic smile, I twist back a few of his fingers with my free hand. James flinches, and I rub my now purple hand. I swear it was purple. James Potter must be a lot stronger than I thought.

"Sorry," I apologize, halfheartedly.

"No, I'm sorry," he sighs, coming back to reality. That alien must be in his body still because James Potter just apologized. James Potter never apologizes because James Potter thinks he's so perfect that he believes that he's ALWAYS right.

He gets to his feet and stretches. I observe not for the first time in my life, why so many girls date Quidditch players. Quidditch, though it causes rivalry between the houses, lets students get away with stuff, makes them less studious not to mention that it's downright dangerous and sometimes has fatal results, is actually good for something. James Potter has a nice body, did I mention that before? If he wasn't such a selfish little brat, I'd probably be thinking he was a sex god as well. Wait am I really thinking that? It's this alien, he's throwing me off course entirely.

"I'm going to check on Gracie."

I nod, because I can't say anything. My tongue's temporarily stuck, and I refuse to open my mouth, for fear that I might drool.

This is too much for me. Am I dreaming? This must be some sort of twisted dream/nightmare, you know those dreams that you wake up from and you can't decide whether it was just a bad dream or a good nightmare. Actually I think this is just one crazy dream with no explanation whatsoever, that I'm going to have a good laugh about when I wake up. Yeah, this is all a dream, starting with the fact that I dreamed in this dream that I died? This is too complicated to be a dream, too crazy to be a dream. Even my subconscious could not create a dream with me dreaming that I died, James Potter and Grace Adams showing up at my house unannounced, Hogwarts being closed for a few days, the Ministry going into lock down, Grace breaking down and me comforting her, James Potter being taken over by a alien and suddenly acting NICE, and finally me, looking at Potter and still not knowing what the hell is going on.

I cross the kitchen, and search for the tea kettle. Perhaps the steam will clear my head, because that's what I desperately need. I'm a bundle of nerves right now and it's starting to screw up my train of thought.

It takes me five whole minutes to find a tea kettle that I usually locate in five seconds. Now I know I'm a basket case. I retrieve the tea kettle from on top of the refrigerator where we always keep it and set it on the stove.

A few minutes later I realize that it needs water. That would've been good. Sorry Mom, I forgot that the tea kettle needed water. I didn't mean to burn down the house!

Shaking my head, I walk over to the sink and turn on the water. It's a nice day outside and I think of days like this at Hogwarts. Gracie and I would be sitting by the lake, kicking off our shoes and socks and dipping our feet into the tepid lake. The sun would be just starting to go down, sinking into the trees and darkness of the Forbidden Forest, and a small black dot against the sky, a lone owl returning to the owlery would be soaring to-

I drop the kettle into the sink. The black owl comes closer and closer until it finally stops outside my kitchen window. I stare at it, and its two beady black eyes stare back at me. It hovers there holding a letter in its beak, and tapping the glass loudly with its beak.

I blink, and realize that I have to open the window.

The owl flies inside, but goes no further then the window sill. It ruffles its feathers and flutters about for a minute or two, watching me. I hold out my hand, the owl eyes it and then carefully places the precious letter into it. Then it takes off again. I almost smile. You have to admit that it's funny. Today I've had about five owls flying in and out of my house. Mom would be thrilled to have so many little creatures to feed. Petunia would be rabid. What would the neighbors think? I snicker and turn to the letter in my hand.

The letter's not for me, it's for Mr. James Potter. It's got his name on it, not mine. But it looks exactly like the one that Gracie received this morning and I know that it was the same owl. I flip the letter over and recognize the seal. It's from the Ministry. My heart speeds up.

I hold the answers in my hand. All I have to do is open it. James would never know. I could just fold it back up. And besides it's his own fault for not letting Grace tell me and then insisting that we wait until we get back to Gracie's house which could be years from now for all I know. Then to top it all off Grace starts crying and I have no idea why. Curiosity gets the better of me. I've been in the dark for too long. I'm going to open it. Quickly, I glance over each of my shoulders. James is no where to be found.

Carefully, I break the seal, trying not to make it too noticeable, incase I do decide to play dummy. Then I unfold the letter, bracing myself for whatever it might contain.

But nothing could prepare me for what it said.

_Dear Mr. James Potter, _

_We regret to inform you that on this morning of September 1__st__ 1975, the Adam's household was attacked. The bodies of Mr. Mark Adams as well as young Mr. Christopher Adams were found in the wreckage. _

_The circumstances are unexplainable, but we assure you that we have already started a thorough investigation. We are doing everything possible to maintain the safety of you and your family. At this time Mrs. Hope Adams and Ms. Grace Adams are still missing. We are unsure whether this attack was at all connected to the recent set of attacks that swept through the magical community this past month. We will inform you if there is a change in the status of either Mrs. Hope Adams or Ms. Grace Adams. _

_Sincerely, _

_Anthony Strangeways_

_Assistant Minister_

Gracie's father and little brother are dead.

They're

D

E

A

D

Twelve year old boys like Gracie's little brother Christopher just don't die. I went to school with him. He was going to try out for Quidditch this year! He was going to be the new chaser! He was going to be a Marauder. He can't be dead! He was a good wizard and a very good student. Middle aged fathers like Gracie's dad, Mark, aren't supposed to die either. He worked for the Ministry. He can't be dead if he's a wizard who works at the Magical Ministry. It's the wizarding world so I know they weren't sick and that it wasn't a car accident, but I know for some reason that they're dead.

But how? This is the magical world! People just don't die randomly, magic's supposed to extend your lifetime, not kill you at twelve! How did they die? Why did they die?

I try to move, but I start to sway left and right. I lose my balance and fall backwards. Slowly, I slide down to the tiled floor. Seated on the cold floor, I pull my knees up to my chest and lean back against the cabinets. I rock back and forth, trying to find some sort of comfort.

Oh, dear god.

I'm so confused, I'm so lost. None of this makes sense! I should be waking up from this insane dream. But I'm not, I'm not going to wake up.

Welcome to reality.

I gasp for breath, struggling to keep that awful lump down and my eyes from blurring. But the tears bubble up in my throat as I think of James with that dazed, solemn look, and Gracie bawling for the first time in her life, and then I think of Gracie's warm hearted Dad who was always trying to help us, and Chris, who became my unofficially adopted little brother during the previous year. The letter slips off my lap and I bury my face in my hands.

No.

Wake up.

Wake up!

No, I have to wake up!

"Lily!"

They're waking me up now, I know they are.

"LILY!"

I pull my head up and see James kneeling down in front of me. But I'm still in the kitchen, and I'm still wearing the same thing. I'm not waking up. Why?

"Merlin Lily, what happened?"

I shake my head, unable to reply.

"Are you okay?"

I look at him as if he's insane.

"NO JAMES I AM NOT OKAY!" I scream. "DO I LOOK OKAY TO YOU!?" My voice breaks and my head drops into my hands. Wake me up, please.

"Lily, Lily please look at me. Tell me what's wrong." Gently he takes my face in his hands and forces me to look at him.

"You want to know what's wrong James? I'll tell you what's wrong." I pick up the letter and wave it around in front of his face.

"This is what's wrong! Twelve year old boys and their fathers are not supposed to be dying! It's not supposed to happen, not in the magical world. It can happen in the muggle world, but not in your world James. Not in your world, not in _our_ world." James' eyes widen when he sees the letter and he grabs it from me.

"Where did you get this?" he asks.

"An owl came."

"But it's addressed to me."

I break down all over again. The play dummy theory is thrown out the window and now the confession starts gushing from my lips.

"I'm sorry James, I knew it was addressed to you and I shouldn't have opened it. But I had to know what was going on. The Ministry just doesn't go into lock down on a daily basis."

"Lily-"

"Grace was crying James! My best friend was crying and I didn't know why. If it was Sirius wouldn't you want to know James?"

"Yes, but Lily-"

"I was in the dark and you wouldn't tell me anything!"

"Lily-"

"Don't you dare "Lily" me! I had every right to open that letter and you know it."

"I KNOW!" James shouts.

He grabs me by the shoulders, lowering his head so that we're on eye level. I'm shocked to see how terrible he looks. All of the color has drained out of his face. His skin is so white that it's almost transparent. He's shaking again, holding onto me for dear life. And I realize that somehow my hands found their own way to his chest and shoulders. I'm still crying, but even my sobs have been silenced by the grief expressed in two single words. And I'm holding onto him. I'm clinging to my last thread of sanity, James.

"I know," he whispers, his eyes searching mine. "We, no I, should've told you everything, but Lily there's just so much to explain."

"I know," I say, nodding.

"No, you don't know!" he snaps. I wince. James notices because he closes his eyes and inhales. When he opens them, he's calm again.

"There's just a lot about the wizarding world that you don't understand."

"You're right," I reply. "But it's not my fault. I'm a Mudblood, remember?"

"You're a Muggleborn, and I didn't say it was-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" I exclaim.

"Like I said before, there's too much to explain."

"You mean there's more. Did Gracie's mom die too? Is the sky falling? Is the world coming undone? Are we in danger? Is Gracie going to die? Are we going to die?"

James looks as if he's just had the wind knocked out of him.

"Answer me! I want to know, please tell me!" I plead, tugging on his shirt collar, and pawing at his shirt. I'm begging him to give me answers. I need a thread of hope, and knowledge is the only thing that I can think of. I mean I've hit rock bottom, there's no way it can get worse.

Right?

"I don't know," he finally answers. "But the sky's not falling…yet."

I look at him and he looks at me.

Wrong.

"Merlin," I whisper. "The world's coming to an end."

And James doesn't agree, but he doesn't disagree either.

Instead he just wraps his arms around me, pulling me to his chest. He starts to gently stroke my hair. It's weird, because this is Potter. I should be slapping him across the face right now, or at least telling him that Gracie's the one that needs comforting not me. And then suddenly it hits me.

"Oh, God. James, I'm so sorry," I apologize, my arms sliding around him.

"I know," he whispers.

I start to cry, again, and James just holds onto me, burying his face into my hair, and resting his cheek occasionally against mine. I could have sworn I felt a hot tear slide down my cheek that wasn't my own, and I thought the top of my head was damp, but maybe I was just imagining it.

I think about telling him how sorry I am, but the words can't do anything but make the wound deeper. So instead I rub his back and whisper in his ear over and over again.

"I'm here, I'm right here."

Together we rock back and forth, tears pouring down my face. He clings to me, and I cling to him.

"I know Lily, I know," he breathes.

**A/N**: I'm sure you're still confused. Confusion is what Lily's feeling right now so I left A LOT of things unexplained to show how she's in the dark and this makes her even more scared. As I said before this story is VERY different from _Cursed_, which I'm still trying to finish up. I guess I just wanted to take a different approach and see if I could still pull it off. It gets better though, I think.

**Edited**


	4. Stuck in a Nightmare

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **I own Shakespeare, the Adams family, Gabriella Mirabella and the world's largest snail.

**Froken Isene**: I'm sorry you don't like her. Lily's only 15/16 years old and I'm planning on making her mature. I've been watching too much television I guess, I never meant for it to seem like she was stupid, but I did want her to seem naïve. She's a muggleborn after all and there's a lot that she doesn't know. That's why she needs James.

**Brazilian Princess**: I was thinking of September 11th and how all the flights were shut down, I think. I never know where I get these strange ideas from.

**Chapter 3: Stuck in this Nightmare**

I open my eyes and look around. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust because the sun has gone down. When they finally do, I notice that it's not night yet, just dusk, and that it's about half past seven. Outside the shadows mingle with the final purplish glow, the aftermath of what might have been a glorious sunset had Gracie, James and I been there to witness it. But inside there's nothing but suspicious shadows and a dim eerie light that bathes the kitchen cabinets and the table, exposing their flaws and making them almost unrecognizable.

I know that if I turn on the light, everything will look the same as it always does, but right now everything looks different. It's as if I'm viewing the world in a whole different light. Suddenly my big bright cheery fantasy world has collapsed around me and I'm faced with problems and fears that I was never aware of before. It's all because of that horrible letter. A part of me wishes that I had never opened it.

I shudder, remembering what information a single piece of paper contained. An arm tightens around my shoulders. Startled, I look up and find James staring off into space with a troubled expression on his face. I forgot about him. I must have drifted off or zoned out for a few minutes.

James glances down and notices that I'm back on planet earth and wide awake, unfortunately. I'm still hoping that this is an insane nightmare that I'm going to wake up from, but it appears that this insane nightmare is my life.

"Hi," I whisper.

"Hi," James replies, quietly. Then he looks back at the telephone that he's been staring aimlessly at for Merlin only knows how long. He must really be out of it if he finds a telephone that fascinating.

Maybe I should give him some time by himself. His uncle and cousin just died. He might want to be alone. And I'm aching all over. I guiltily admit that sitting wrapped in James's arms was quite comfy, but now the handles on the kitchen cabinets are starting to dig into my back, and the tile's so cold and hard beneath me. I move my legs and fidget, trying to get into a more comfortable position.

It's no use though, and James doesn't even appear to notice that I exist. I start moving discreetly away from him, trying not to wreck his intent concentration on the telephone. I wouldn't want him to lose any staring contests with an inanimate object.

Again James surprises me. He notices, not only that, but he helpfully removes his arm from my shoulder.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" I ask, realizing that James asked me that same line a couple of hours ago.

James shakes his head.

"Are you sure?" I ask, studying him.

He thinks it over.

"How about a cup of tea?" I ask, hopefully. He looks so hopeless sitting there on the floor like a lost little boy. I remember how Mom would make me tea whenever I was sick or upset about something. It always cheered me up because it made me feel grown up. Mom would sit across from me and listen intently to everything I had to say. And when I finished, she always had an explanation and a solution. She knew everything and could solve anything. Right up until the day I received my letter from Hogwarts announcing that I was a witch.

Mom didn't have an explanation for that, and she couldn't answer any of my questions or solve any of the problems that I began to encounter. That was when I realized that I was alone in the magical world and learned to stand on my own two feet.

"I'll make tea," I say, patting his arm. What else can I say? It's not my uncle and cousin that died.

I get to my feet slowly and reach for the kettle. It's still in the sink, behind James. The water's already running and I haven't even touched it. Oh no. I left the tap running, again. I slap my forehead. Dad's going to have a fit when he sees the water bill this month. I shut off the water, step over James, and light the stove, leaving it to boil.

Quietly, I approach James and kneel down in front of him.

"James?"

James doesn't answer. His eyes are level with mine, but instead of looking into my eyes they're looking right through me. I swear he has X-ray vision or something, because I can almost feel two holes being burned right through my eyes and out the back of my head. It's starting to creep me out, so against my better judgment I say his name again instead of leaving him alone.

"James?"

No reply.

Great. Now it's a zombie that's inhabiting James Potter's body.

I sigh, wondering what to do now that I've lost contact with James. Perhaps he'll come around once I make the tea. Give him time. He'll be okay, just give him some time.

I get up off the floor, and wander over to the kitchen table. The tea won't be done for another ten minutes, so I entertain myself by going through yesterday's half-opened mail, (Junk mail, bill, junk mail, bill, letter for Petu-junk mail, junk mail) and a few magazines (so Petunia can look like she actually knows how to read). I push away the last flyer and I'm surprised to find yesterday's paper still sitting there.

I usually don't read the paper. I know, bad Lily, you should keep up with the news, but it just seems stupid now that I'm no longer a part of this world. I am, but I'm not. As soon as I graduate Hogwarts there is no question in my mind. I am going to live in the Wizarding World.

There's nothing left but the paper, and there is no way I am reading about why I should get Burn's Life Insurance, or how in just 5 steps I can be as beautiful as the person on the cover of Petunia's magazine. I roll my eyes and flip open the paper.

**FAMOUS ACTRESS GABRIELLA MIRABELLA DIVORCES 11****th**** HUSBAND**

That's the headline on the front page. Now I remember why I stopped reading the paper. Just for the heck of it though, I flip over to the other side and skim a couple of the leading stories.

**PRESIDENT CARTER PAYS VISIT TO LONDON**

Who cares?

**LARGEST SNAIL EVER RECORDED FOUND IN CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS**

Now that's funny.

**MIRABELLA's EX-HUSBAND'S COMMENT**

**MIRABELLA's 6.8 BILLION DOLLAR MANSION UP FOR SALE**

**MIRABELLA'S NEWEST MOVIE HITS THEATERS**

God, does the world really revolve around this woman?

**GABRIELLA MIRABELLA WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FROM CANDIDATE**

**EXPLOSION IN LONDON STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION**

Yadda, yadda, yadda, wait- explosion?

I leaf through the paper, attempting to find the article. It shows up on page seventy eight, after about fifty pages of Mirabella news, and twenty seven of advertisements. There's a huge black and white photo of a building that's been demolished. Nothing's left of it but a pile of twigs.

**CAUSE OF MYSTERIOUS LONDON EXPLOSION UNKNOWN**

_On August 17__th__, an explosion tore through one of London's finest and oldest antique shops, killing the owner and his wife, as well as two employees, and eleven unidentified customers. The explosion happened without warning, on a brilliant warm summer day. The foundation was secure, and the building has been standing on its own for as long as anyone can remember. But within minutes nothing was there but a pile of wood, and a group of confused shoppers and Londoners. Rescuers arrived at the scene immediately but were unable to save any of the victims. It's unexplainable, and still puzzles and troubles skilled investigators. The explosion's mysterious origins have not been discovered just yet, just as the identities of several of the victims remains a mystery. _

The picture catches my attention and I notice the building beside it. I know where that book store is! I haven't been in to London a lot, but I recognize the location of this mysterious explosion. I peer closely at the picture, squinting. I can't remember why, but there's something very significant about this location. I just know it.

"Er - Lily?"

"Hmm?" I keep staring at the photograph, searching my poor memory.

"I don't mean to interrupt or anything… but… your stoves on fire."

"That's nice." Carefully, I tear the article and the photograph out of the paper.

"Lily?"

"Yea?" I fold it and slip it into my pocket.

"Maybe you didn't hear me correctly I said your-"

"I know, I know my stove's on FIRE?!"

Alarms start going off in my head, as I look wildly around for the stove and the deadly flames. My stove is in fact on fire, but that's what usually happens when you turn it on. The burner is flaming, but it's not that big of a deal. The tea's done, that's for sure, but the tea kettle is missing. I look around and find the tea kettle with James. I almost laugh at the sight of him cradling it like a precious possession. James looks terrified, and is staring at the out of control burner from a safe distance away with large fearful hazel eyes.

"Do something!" he shouts.

James is afraid of STOVES! MUGGLE STOVES! I can't help it, a giggle escapes my lips. Hurriedly, I clap a hand over my mouth.

"Stop the fire. Put it out! Get rid of it! I don't care what you do, just do _something_! Please!" he begs. I try hard not to laugh, but James is hanging onto the kettle as if his life depends on it. He's practically on his hands and knees asking me to put an end to it.

If only the circumstances were different. I would be able to get back at Potter for the five years of hell he's put me through. Think of the power of blackmail. It's just too bad we're in this situation.

"Damn it Lily, we're going to die!"

Honestly, these wizards. They think they're so great until they encounter something as simple as a muggle stove. I get up and approach the flaming stove. With a roll of my eyes, I shut the stove off. A mere turn of a knob, that's all it took. Suddenly, I'm Potter's savior, again.

I turn around and face him. He's leaning against the wall with his arms wrapped around the kettle as if it were a security blanket. His brow is shining with a little sweat and he appears to be having difficulty breathing.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"NO!"

I'm having déjà vu. I feel like we've already gone through this routine, except it was James who was asking me if I was okay and I was the one getting ready to snap his head off and blow out his ear drums.

"Merlin Lily, that's the third time you tried to kill me today!" he explodes. "Are you planning on taking out a knife or something and stabbing me? Or perhaps you're going to shoot me with an unforgivable when my back's turned because by all means, do it now before I die of fright. I'm getting sick of waiting to join them. Please, let's get this over with once and for all."

The humor's zapped out of the situation. I feel the balloon deflate inside of me. How could I be so inconsiderate? This isn't the usual Potter that I'm dealing with. The kid just lost his uncle and cousin. I'm so cruel. I really am heartless.

"I'm not trying to kill you James. Rest assured, we're both stuck in this hell together," I say, softly.

James stares at me, his eyes darting up and down and all over my figure.

"Look, I'm sorry. I was a little busy and well, most people don't freak out when they see a stove on. But it's a muggle thing I guess. I'm really sorry James. I should've known that you're not used to staying in the Muggle world," I apologize, taking baby steps toward him.

James stops backing away, and I inch toward him. I pause a foot away from him and hold my hand out to him. James eyes it, unwilling to take either one of his hands off of the tea kettle.

"I'm not going to hurt you James. You'll have to ask someone else to put you out of your misery." I extend my hand.

James hesitantly removes his hand from the tea kettle and touches mine. My fingers close over his and he smiles shakily as our eyes meet.

"It's not so bad," he whispers.

"What?" I ask, quietly.

"Hell… but maybe that's because we're both in it together." A shadow of a grin appears on his face for an instant and I can almost see the light returning to his darkened eyes.

"You're right, it isn't so bad," I echo, with a chuckle.

We stare at each other, hand in hand. It seems like we've been doing this a lot lately. Odd really, since usually it was just James staring at the back of my head, not the other way around, and I, for the record, would never be caught dead staring at Potter.

"Lily?" he whispers.

"What?" I ask, wondering why we're whispering.

"I hate to spoil the moment, but my hands."

"What about them?"

"They're beginning to hurt."

I remove my hand from his, glance over the back of his hand, and then turn it over in mine. I gasp at the sight of the red ugly flesh. He burnt himself.

"James you idiot!" I push him into the nearest chair. "Why didn't you tell me you burnt yourself?!" I scold, taking my wand from my pocket.

"Sorry, all I could think about was saving you Ms. Evans," James jokes.

I laugh loudly at this, perhaps a little too loudly. But I've missed his jokes. It's so weird to see James serious and suddenly I realize how much better the joking, troublesome, laughing, mischievous prankster suits him.

"You better watch it Potter, or I might fall back on my promise and decide to frighten you again." But I'm grinning.

"That's an empty threat Ms. Evans, I know for a fact that secretly you can't resist my charm. You're just too stubborn to admit it." He smirks.

Haughty, self-centered, arrogant and smirking, yep, that's Potter. He's back from the dead and taking on both the alien and the zombie. I smile for some odd reason, almost liking the fact that he's acting semi-normal again.

"Don't be so sure Potter." I smirk. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

James raises an eyebrow as if challenging me.

"There's still the microwave, the fridge, the freezer, the television…"

James starts to pale.

"…the telephone, the automobile…"

Now he's starting to fidget a little bit.

"…I could go on and on Potter, after all you're in the non-magical world. Here you're the stranger, not me. You seem to be forgetting that."

That'll take care of him for a little while. I start to heal his hands with the aid of my wand and just as I hoped, James stays put, and doesn't attempt to grope me in anyway or ask me into a closet or a bedroom. Things get done faster when there isn't someone trying to seduce you. Even if Potter fails miserably at this, he's still an annoyance.

"Ow, Lily! That hurts," he whimpers.

"You're such a baby." I roll my eyes.

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"AM NO-OUCH!"

He yanks his hands away from mine. Slowly he turns his hands over, examining the newly healed flesh. Distraction always works. Wordlessly, he looks up at me, flexing his now painless, normal hands.

"All done."

I reach up and ruffle his hair, as if he were a toddler since he's been acting like one. Halfheartedly, he tries to shove me away, but I manage to mess up his hair. He runs his hands through his hair trying to smooth it back down. I laugh because it's impossible. James Potter has messy, wild, unruly black hair that's always sticking up in every direction. It simply refuses to lie flat.

"What are you laughing at?" he snaps.

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head.

"You're laughing at me!" he accuses.

"Of course not," I lie.

Instead of arguing with me, he sits back in his chair and sighs. He runs a hand through his hair again, looking over my shoulder at the rest of the kitchen.

"How about a cup of tea?" I ask, getting to my feet. I go to the cabinet and remove two tea cups and then sit back down again.

"Sure, sounds great," James grabs one of the tea cups and I pour the tea inside.

I fill my cup as well, and discreetly watch James over the top of my cup. He takes a sip, looks thoughtful for a moment, and then suddenly stands up.

"Where do you think you're going?" I demand.

"I'm going to check on Gracie," James replies.

"Oh, okay."

I sip my tea and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for James to return. Five minutes later he comes back and sits back down in front of me.

"How is she?" I inquire.

"Still sleeping,"

We lapse into silence, drinking and finishing our tea. It's not an awkward silence. It's more of a comfortable contented silence. And to tell you the truth, this new and improved James is starting to grow on me and irritate me at the same time. Half of me still wants him to return to normal while the other half is enjoying the company of this kind, thoughtful, non-groping, not always thinking of self, James.

"We can't stay here," James says finally, shattering the fragile silence.

"Why not?" I ask. I tip my cup, staring into the thin layer of liquid that still rests at the bottom. I try to shift the cup a little so that it'll catch the light and maybe I'll be able to see my reflection in the watery brown tea.

"It's probably safer here," I add.

"No, it's not."

I look up at him, surprised.

"Lily," he hesitates. "Your parents might be in danger if we stay here."

"No!"

James nods, solemnly.

"What do you mean?" I stammer.

"Lily," He sighs and runs a hand through his hair again. "There's a lot we need to explain to you when we get back, but now is not the time."

"But-"

"Just hear me out Lily, please," he says, grabbing my hand and looking me in the eye. "Gracie's family was just murdered and Gracie's here. I don't know why Gracie's family was murdered or why any of the others had to die, but not many of them survive once this monster decides to kill them. Trust me on this one Lily; if we're here, your parents are in danger."

I close my eyes trying to get my heart beat back to normal. But all I can see is a large foreboding tombstone with the names of Matthew and Alexandra Evans engraved in the granite.

"Do you understand?" James asks.

It's difficult to comprehend but I grasp some form of the concept. I swallow hard and nod.

"I get it." I open my eyes and look at him. "How soon can we get out of here?"

"Um, well, erm. I'm not sure," James says, guiltily.

"James, you just told me that my parent's lives are in danger! We need to get out of here!" I yell.

"I know that Lily and believe me I would've been long gone if the circumstances were different."

"Well let's go!" I throw back my chair and start toward the living room where Gracie is.

"But Lily you're forgetting something." James suddenly appears in front of me, blocking my path and refusing to budge.

"What?" I ask, unsuccessfully trying to get by him.

"The ministry went into lock down."

"I don't care if the ministry drops off the face of the earth, we just need to get out of here." I push him with all my might but he won't move.

"I don't think you understand," he says, grabbing me by the shoulders.

"Well, then you better explain." I fold my arms across my chest and glare up at him.

"The Floo network's shut down."

Oh. That puts a damper on everything. My escape plan flies right out the window. I can just kiss my parents goodbye, and probably James and Gracie as well.

Gracie's haunting words come back to me.

"_We're stuck here."_

And then she started crying. Right now, I feel like crying again.

James and I go back to the drawing table, sitting back down in our chairs. There's not much we can do. I know for a fact that wizards and witches always take floo powder to get to and from the muggle world on those rare occasions that they have too. Gracie told me this several times. Take that away and I don't know what to do, and apparently neither does James.

Think Lily, think, your parent's lives depend on this, think.

"Hey let's just take a train in or we can have my Dad drive us!"

James grins.

"Yeah that's a great idea, I'll just take the train-"

His face falls. I don't think many trains run to their house.

"Okay screw the train how about driving, I know you guys have town cars, Gracie told me."

James's face lights up again and he looks at me excitedly.

"You're right! We can get your Dad to drive us and then-"

Again his face falls.

"What's wrong with that idea?" I demand.

"I don't know where I live," James mumbles.

"WHAT?!"

"I don't live in the muggle world," he says, throwing up his hands defensively.

"But James-"

"You wouldn't be able to find your house on the floo network even if your life depended on it."

He's right of course. We've reached another dead end.

"Wait, wait just a minute!" James sits upright in his chair, his eyes lighting up again. "The Knight Bus we can take the Knight Bus!"

"The what-?" I haven't the faintest idea what he's talking about. It doesn't matter though because an instant later he slumps back down in his chair.

I raise an eyebrow.

"It doesn't run during lock down," he replies, glumly.

Damn.

"It's hopeless," I say with a sigh.

"I just wish I had taken my _Silver Arrow_ with me," James laments.

"Well, you didn't." Thank Merlin for that. I'm not very keen on broomsticks. It's just another one of the many reasons why I dislike Potter so much.

"That's it!" James exclaims, suddenly.

Oh god, please don't tell me this is what I think it is.

"You have a broom, don't you?"

I knew he was going to ask that.

"Yes, but James it's not the same thing," I protest, weakly.

"Nonsense," James says with a wave of his hand. "Show me the broom and we can talk after that."

"Fine, but you'll be disappointed," I warn.

I sigh and reluctantly walk over to the kitchen closet. James follows me. He has so much energy that he's practically bouncing. Honestly, he's like a little kid waiting to open Christmas presents. I open up the small closet and we peer inside. It never ceases to amaze me how Mom was able to fill that closet with nothing but cleaning supplies. I can tell you one thing, when I grow up I am using magic to clean my house.

I push aside the vacuum and retrieve the good old plastic broom.

"Here it is, the impressive _Sweeper 200_," I quip, handing it to him.

James turns it over in his hands, frowning.

"What's wrong? Is it not up to the _Silver Arrow_ standards?" I smirk.

Finally he looks up at me, with a look of disgust.

"What the hell is this?" he asks, gesturing to the plastic.

"That, is a broom," I answer, smugly.

"No, this is not a broom. This is some ugly yellow cane that's sprouting hair at one end."

"We muggles like to call it a plastic broom," I defend.

"You're not a muggle," James corrects me, handing the broom back.

"I live with them though," I whisper, wondering if I ever will again.

I replace the broom and start to shut the closet but James stops me.

"What's that?" he inquires, pointing to the vacuum.

"A vacuum."

"What does it do?" James asks, curiously.

"James, it's called a vacuum for a reason, it sucks things up like a black hole."

"Oh," He glances fearfully at the vacuum and backs away from the closet. I grin and close the door behind me. Too bad we didn't have time to plug it in and turn it on. It would've been fun to chase James around the house with my man-eating vacuum.

"Now what?" he wonders aloud.

"I don't know. I'm all out of ideas." I shrug.

"Great," he says, sarcastically.

The two of us walk back to the table. We're running out of time. It's almost nine o'clock. My parents might be dead right now for all I know.

"James?" I ask.

"What?" He turns to me.

"How long does this lock down thing usually last?" I inquire.

"Er, I don't really know," he admits, honestly.

"Oh," I stare down at my hands.

"The last time this happened I was nine," he recalls.

"What happened then?" I look up at him.

"Not much. My mom locked me in a room with Gracie and Chris-" He stops suddenly at the mention of his dead cousin. His eyes fall to the table and his voice softens. "That's all I remember."

I reach across the table and cover his hand with mine. _Actions_, my father once told me, _speak louder than words_. At the thought of my father, the death threat echoes in my mind. Again I see the tombstone and I realize that if we don't hurry up my parents will be joining Chris and his dad in the ground. I clear my throat.

"I don't mean to be rude James, but my parents-"

"I'm aware of that Lily, I'm thinking hard, or I'm at least trying to think of a way to get the three of us out of here before they get home."

"Home," I echo. Wait, just a minute! I think I have an idea.

"James, what if I told them not to come home. Then we could wait until this whole mess blows over and go back by flow powder and they'd never find my parents," I suggest, attempting to hide the enthusiasm in my voice.

But the look on James's face is enough to crush any happy thought that I once had.

"It won't work, Lily."

"Why not?"

James leans forward, lowering his voice as if someone might already be listening in on our conversation.

"I don't think you know who we're dealing with. Whoever this person is broke into a highly protected vault in the Ministry and took something we'll probably never be able to get back. If they want to kill your parents they won't have any trouble tracking them down."

My eyes widen, and my jaw drops.

"They what?" I gasp.

Is this what Gracie and James were planning on telling me before Gracie received the news of her parent's death?

"Never mind, it's too dangerous to talk about it here, and your parents-"

"You're right we don't have time for this," I interrupt.

I can almost hear the clock ticking in my mind. You know those movies where the handsome hero has to locate the bad guy's bomb and then cut the right wires before the whole world blows into smithereens, not to mention killing the main character and his lover, kids, dog, parents, best friend, brother, sister, crazy next door neighbor, annoying partner, you get the idea, and all this time those glowing red numbers are counting down to zero at lightening speed. Well, that's what it feels like. There's this huge glowing clock in my mind, except I don't know how much time is left, or even if the time has already-

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

-run out.

"Was that you?" I ask James, stupidly.

"No! That was a girl screaming-" The color drains from his face, as realization sets in.

"Gracie?" I squeak, fearfully.

"CRUD!" The two of us get up and run to the living room.

Oh, god. Oh, Merlin. Please, this can't be happening. Please, I can't lose my best friend. Please. Tell me we're not too late.

I can hear the sound of a scuffle. Someone slams into a wall or a large piece of furniture. A scream of frustration echoes through the hall and I hear the sounds of someone running.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" a voice screams.

Someone's trying to kill her! My heart's slamming in my chest so hard that I can barely breathe. I won't let this happen, I won't! The house never seemed so big until now. It seems to take me ages to get out of the kitchen and cross the hall to the living room. James reaches the room before me, disappearing inside. I follow him, slamming into his tall form.

James doesn't notice though. He's frozen in place, rooted to the floor. Don't tell me we're too late! I peek around his broad shoulders bracing myself for a severely injured Grace, or worse, a lifeless body.

But I don't see anything.

I move to his side, my eyes frantically searching the room. There's no one here. The room's empty.

"Gracie?" I call.

No one answers. Not that I was expecting anyone to.

"Where'd they go?" James asks, as if I should know.

I shrug. He got here first so he should know.

"Gracie!" he yells.

"GRACIE!" I holler with all my lung power.

"I AM GOING TO FREAKING KILL YOU!" a distant voice shouts.

James swings around and looks at me, his eyes wide with fear.

"It's coming from the back yard," I breathe. "Come on!" I race to the back door, with James right on my heels.

We run outside, and James quickly takes the lead again. He's a fast runner. (It's the Quidditch thing I bet. As soon as we get back to Hogwarts - that is if I live through this - I am going to seriously consider Quidditch.) We run around the house once, twice, and then panting we slow to a jog, me just barely matching his speed. It's dark out, and James and I don't have the faintest clue where Gracie and her tormentor might be.

"I… think… we… lost… them," I pant, as I try to catch my breath.

"Me too," James says, wisely saving his breath.

We jog around the house a third time, but my strength wanes, and I see nothing in the darkness.

"I…can't…see…anyth-OW!"

I trip, and fall to the ground, clutching my ankle. How dumb, how incredibly stupid can I get? I tripped over my own mailbox!

"You okay?" James asks, softly. I feel his arms around me, helping me up. I bite down hard on my lip, as I accidentally put weight on the injured ankle. I am not going to cry over something as silly as a sprained ankle.

"Is it your foot?"

"My ankle," I correct him, pointing out which one it is.

"Can you walk?" he asks, throwing my arm around his neck.

I try to walk, or rather limp, but it's not working out. James is on the wrong side and he doesn't seem to understand that if he just moved to my other side I could limp just perfectly fine with his support. But nothing gets through that thick skull of his.

"This isn't working," James sighs.

"No it's not, but if you would just - what are you doing?" I demand as James suddenly sweeps me off my feet.

"I'm carrying you," he answers, simply.

"James, put me down! JAMES!" I squeal and throw my arms around his neck hanging on for dear life as he grabs both of my legs and starts carrying me.

"Will you quit squirming Lily? You're not making this any easier," he hisses in my ear.

"I don't like being carried!" I try to wriggle free from his grasp, but James hangs on tight. I hate him, I really do. He's making me so uncomfortable right now and even if we are in this situation it doesn't make it right for him to be allowed to touch me. Then I remember that he's only doing this so that we can locate and rescue Gracie and instantly I stop struggling and remain still.

"You should have left me," I mumble.

"Left you there?! And find you missing like Gracie, or dead? I couldn't do that Lily," he whispers, carefully lowering me onto the front steps. He sits down beside me. The light from the streetlight bounces off his glasses, making it difficult for me to read the expression in his eyes.

"But Gracie-" I protest.

"We're going to find her. But I think right now she might be taking care of herself."

I laugh and then look up at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

James chuckles, and takes out his wand pointing it at my ankle. I try to move but he's quicker. He grabs my ankle, his hand cool on my skin. A shiver runs up my spine, and suddenly I'm not resisting anymore, even though I know I could probably do a much better job than him. I can't move, I can barely breathe.

"You didn't hear her?" James asks me, a hint of amusement mixed with the customary sadness. I can't reply; I'm tongue tied.

"I thought the whole bloody world could hear her the way she was hollering, whoever showed up is in big trouble. Gracie's on a war path, and this time she's out for blood."

"YOU'RE DEAD!" This time the voice is a lot closer.

James head snaps up and his arm shoots out pulling me to his side. I scoot closer to him, my heart thudding once more. Two shadowy shapes come into view, and this time I'm sure that the one behind, the one that's chasing the first, is Gracie. The one in front - that's currently running for his life, trying to get as far away from this mad woman as he can - actually looks familiar. In fact, James seems to recognize him too because all of a sudden he throws back his head and laughs.

"BBBBLLLLAAACCCCKKKK! I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR THIS BLACK!" Gracie roars, tearing after the boy.

Relief washes over me as a terrified Sirius Black sprints past us, with a furious Grace Adams in hot pursuit.

I close my eyes and we're back at Hogwarts. We're fifteen again with nothing to worry about other than exams, and the Marauder's latest prank. Happy and carefree, my best friend threatening to kill or dismember one of the members of the Marauders, running by the lake, shooting harmless spells at one another. The memories flash by me all at once. Then I see the articles, the black owl and it's letter, Gracie crying, James clutching the tea kettle and yelling, and finally me, crying in James Potter's arms on the kitchen floor. The two worlds collide, and here we are on the front step. Potter and I.

My shoulders slump with the impact of all the memories, and I lean back against James, breathing hard. I can feel him shaking, vibrating with the chords of empty laughter. I open my eyes and watch as Gracie and Sirius run past us again, heading in the opposite direction.

"We shouldn't be laughing," I say, at last.

"Why not?" he asks. His laughter is empty, but he wears an amused expression, as if he does find something funny about the situation after all.

"Because-" But I can't bring myself to finish the sentence. I'm so confused. I don't know whether I should be crying or laughing. I look up at James and he smiles, as if he knows what I'm thinking and he has the answers.

"Lily, Gracie's alive and okay. And Sirius is here. Do you know what that means?"

I shake my head, trying to figure out where he's going with this.

"The floo network's back up, Lily. We're going home!"

"Home," I echo. I think of my parents, the tombstone fading, replaced with an image of a future Christmas together.

Home. I glance back at the house, and realize for the first time that it seems empty, and cold, and doesn't strike any enthusiasm or light any emotions. The only thing I connect vaguely with the house is my parents, and never in all my life have I wanted to get further away from them.

My mind turns to the Wizarding World where Gracie, James, Sirius, and all my friends, fellow students, professors, and tormentors are waiting. Hogwarts. My heart leaps at the mere thought of returning.

Home.

I'm going home, to my real home.

"It's not funny," I scold James.

"Why not?" he asks again, studying me with his hazel eyes.

"Sirius could get seriously hurt."

James smirks and gives my shoulders a squeeze. I can hear Gracie's voice echoing through the yard, but this time Sirius is answering her. Neither one of us can tell what it is they're arguing about.

"Have some faith in him Lily!" James urges.

Something bubbles up inside of me. When I open my mouth, laughter is the glorious sound that rushes to the surface. James joins in and his laughter echoes through the night.

I do have faith, just not necessarily in Sirius. But I know Gracie. She's merciful most of the time. So, there's a pretty good chance that Sirius will come out of this alive.

Sure enough, I see Gracie dragging Sirius back by his ear. He's whining, and begging for mercy, but he's alive. I think there's hope after all for Sirius. Gracie, there's no question in my mind. If someone wants to kill her, they're going to have to answer to Gracie the devil woman first. So, there's hope for her. And as for James and I, I think there's hope for us too.

No, wait! I know what you're thinking, but it's nothing like that! I just meant that there was hope for us individually and not as a couple. NO! There is no future for _US_. There is a future for James, and there is a future for me, but there is no together. No, you don't understand! I really didn't mean it that way!

Well, there's hope. You get the idea, the wrong idea, but all the same. And after this whole thing is over and done with and I can go back to living out my life as a normal (well not exactly normal since I'm a witch) teenager, and I go back to hating James, (because I still hate him I just HAVE to be nice to him since his uncle and cousin just died), I'm seriously going to seek counseling.

Wait, do they even have counseling in the Wizarding World?

**A/N**:_ I'll try to have Chapter 4 up this week, possibly in the next couple of days. I can reply to reviews now! Whoa, they've made some major changes since I was last here._

**Edited**


	5. It's Probably Nothing

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_JK Rowling owns the world. Yadda yadda, you know the deal. All the crazy characters are probably mine._

**A/N:**_ Thanks to everyone that reviewed!!!! I appreciate it, I hope you like this one too!_

**Chapter 4: It's Probably Nothing**

I sigh, leaning my chin on my hand. Gracie and Sirius are sitting on either side of me. Sirius looks terrified and a little confused, and Grace looks like she's ready to explode. I can see that she's itching to tear Sirius to pieces. If it wasn't for the separation spell, that James and I cast on them, they'd probably still be running around the yard. Or Gracie might be blasting him to smithereens, beating him up, or torturing him slowly. I guess it depends on what kind of mood she's in. Remember what I said about Gracie being merciful? Well, just scratch that from the record. Grace Adams is not entirely herself today. You can't blame her though, after all her parents and her little brother just died.

I just wish she wouldn't take it out on poor Sirius. Yes, I'll admit that I'm actually feeling bad for the bloke that's so much like Potter that it's scary. You would be too if you saw the blazing anger in Gracie's eyes. She's eyeing Sirius as if he's some sort of prey. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she can't get her hands on the murderer so instead she's substituting Sirius.

Suddenly, Gracie makes a dive for Sirius. She cries out as her fist collides with the invisible wall. The wall's still vibrating from the impact of the force, five minutes later. Sirius trembles, looking pleadingly up at me.

"Uh, Lily? I don't mean to be a pain, but could you and James speed it up a bit?" he stammers, as Gracie studies the wall, no doubt looking for a way around it.

"I know Sirius we're trying," I assure him, nodding. Believe me, I understand. I've forgotten how mad Gracie can get sometimes. The last time she got like this we were Third Years. She went into a rage because a Slytherin nearly killed one of her team mates in one of the most dangerous, dirtiest Quidditch matches I've ever seen. I don't remember what happened to that Slytherin, that's what scares me.

"LILY!" Sirius yells.

Gracie has her wand out and is pointing it at the wall, but her wand flies into my hands before you can say Quidditch. That was a close one. I tuck the wand into my pocket and reach for the front door.

"I'm going to go tell James to hurry up. I'll be back in two seconds," I tell Sirius.

Sirius nods, never taking his eyes off maniac Gracie who's eyeing the wall again like a tiger ready to break free from a cage. Note to self: be extra nice to Sirius Black if he lives through this.

"James!" I walk inside and the screen door slams shut behind me.

"Are you ready yet?" I call. My voice echoes through the house.

"Almost!" James replies.

Almost isn't good enough. Gracie's ready to kill Sirius, and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold her off. It shouldn't take him this long to light a fire for us to floo out with. I've watched Gracie do it once, and it only took her less than a millisecond. Then again this is Potter we're talking about. The same person that thought it would be brilliant to become an Animagi. I'm glad he got rid of that idea.

I tip toe down the dark hallway, finally coming to a stop outside of the living room. The living room's pitch black except for a small sliver of moonlight, sliding in through the half open window. I hear something move and the back of James's head appears, as he moves closer to the fireplace and steps into the light.

Silently, I watch him, as he fiddles with his wand, muttering under his breath. The wand comes into view, as he points it at my fireplace. And now I know why it's taking James so long.

"James, you can't – STOP!"

**BANG!**

I couldn't reach him in time. The fireplace blows up again, the flames blazing for an instant and then disappearing as quickly as they appeared.

"Cool," James says.

James raises his wand, but I grab his arm before he can even think of doing that again.

"Are you trying to burn my parent's house down?" I hiss.

He actually has to think this over for a moment.

"Um, no?"

"Then cut it out Potter!" I let go of his arm, and flick the light on.

"Whoa!" James's jaw drops. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," I say, sarcastically.

"I've got to try that!" James pushes me out of the way in his haste to get to the light switch. He turns it on and gasps. Then he turns it off and gasps again. And then it goes on again. And off. And then on again. And then off. Faster and faster, the light's start to flicker, and all this time James looks as if classes have been canceled and instead have been replaced with a Quidditch match.

I hate to spoil the fun, but if we want to save Sirius, then we better hurry it up.

"Ahem," I clear my throat but James is having too much fun. It's sad how a wizard can be amused by something as simple as turning a light on an off in a muggle household. I cough loudly.

"AHEM!"

James stops.

"The fireplace," I remind him, pointing my wand at the fireplace.

"One floo fire coming right up!" James bounces over to the fireplace but I hold him back.

"You're not going to get anything done, if you're doing it that way."

James frowns and looks up at me, puzzled.

"Why not?" he asks.

"This is a muggle fireplace, it doesn't work the same way as a magical fireplace," I explain, slowly.

James accepts my answer and thankfully doesn't ask questions. I have the fire going before you can say "Quidditch". Gracie would've been proud.

"Go get Gracie and Sirius. I'll watch the fire," James says, eyeing the light switch when he thinks I'm not looking. I roll my eyes, hoping that he's not going to start an electrical fire. Just for future reference I am never leaving James alone with fire or a muggle device ever again.

I walk back to the front door. As I step outside I notice that there's something missing. I glance down at the front steps. Gracie and Sirius! They're gone…AGAIN.

"Not again!" I groan, slapping my forehead. How did I get stuck with the babysitting job? Why couldn't Potter do this?

Distant shouts travel to my ears. I turn my head, searching for them in the darkness. I see something move in my next door neighbor's yard, and I start running in the direction of their house. I arrive just in time to watch Gracie tackle Sirius to the ground. Stunned, I watch as she steals Sirius's wand from his hand and then sits up on his chest.

"That's it Black!" She points his own wand at him, ready to curse him into oblivion.

"_Expelliarmus_!" I shout.

Sirius's wand soars out of her hand, and I catch it in my own. Grace looks up at me, slightly surprised. The element of surprise works to my advantage and I pull her off of Sirius and to her feet. Sirius wastes no time getting up and running away in the opposite direction.

"Wait, Sirius! You have to come back!" I call, using his wand to point back at the house where James is waiting for us. Sirius reluctantly comes walking back, extra careful to give Grace a wide berth. I throw his wand to him, but unfortunately I do not play Quidditch and I am not gifted athletically. The wand falls short, and both Gracie and Sirius make a dive for it.

There's a brief scuffle, and I have to intervene with a little magic. In the end Sirius winds up with the wand and a black eye while Gracie winds up with James who appears out of nowhere.

"Where'd you come from?" I ask, surprised to see him.

"Where were you five minutes ago when your evil, conniving cousin decided to -"

Gracie flies out of James's arms and brings back her arm to punch Sirius before he can finish the sentence. Luckily James stops her by twisting the offending arm behind her back. Her free arm shoots out, and her hand grabs Sirius's ear in a death grip.

"What did I do to deserve this? You cruel – OOOOWWWW! I mean no - I only meant OOOOWWWWWWWW!" Sirius moans in pain, trying to push her away. Gracie refuses to let go, even after James and I try to intervene.

"Say it one more time Black and I'll rip this ear right off!" she snarls, her eyes flashing with raging anger. I've never seen her like this. Never. Not even when that Slytherin almost killed one of the Gryffindor chasers. I have to put a stop to this before she does something she'll regret.

"Gracie, let go of his ear," I say softly, trying and failing to remain calm. Gracie ignores me and Sirius yelps as her nails dig into the flesh and a small trickle of blood appears.

"Please," I beg, touching her arm gently and continuing in a soothing voice. "Please Gracie, just let go. Sirius isn't responsible for their deaths." I bite down on my lip, praying that she'll listen.

Gracie trembles and then slowly, she lets her hand fall.

For a moment she just stands there, unsure of what to do. Then she turns and runs to James. He receives her with open arms, pulling her to his chest, and letting her weep on his shoulder. I watch as he leans down and whispers some comforting words in her ear. Gracie shudders with a loud sob and buries her face into the front of his shirt.

I turn my back to them, giving them some privacy. Sirius's confused dark eyes meet mine, and then travel back to Gracie and James. He doesn't know, I realize.

"Come on," I say softly, grabbing his arm and gently pulling him toward the house.

Sirius keeps glancing over his shoulder as we walk back to the house. When at last we're out of hearing distance and seated on the front steps he tears his eyes away from them and looks at me.

"What the hell's wrong with her?" he asks, his eyes narrowing as if I'm in some way responsible for this.

"Don't look at me like that Black, I'd like to know what it was that you said or did to her that caused her to snap," I snap, glaring back at him.

Sirius and I glare at each other and then realize how ridiculous we're being and look away.

"I didn't do anything," Sirius explains. "All I did was floo to your house after I found out that was where James was. And then I saw Grace sleeping. So, I kind of – well, I sort of-"

I bury my face into my hands.

"Please tell me you didn't," I groan.

"Didn't what?" Sirius asks, innocently.

"Sneak up on her and wake her."

Sirius doesn't answer. When I look up at him, he's grinning guiltily.

"I might have," he admits as if suddenly recalling the memory.

"Sirius!" I hit him. That was probably one of the worst possible things he could have done. No wonder why Grace was acting like he was the murderer.

"How could you!"

I hit him a second time, effectively wiping the grin right off his face. He frowns and dodges out of the way before I can make it three.

"How was I supposed to know that she was on the verge of a nervous break down and had suddenly decided to kill everything that moves!" he snaps back at me.

"HER PARENTS DIED!" I shout.

Sirius's eyes widen. For a moment he seems to be in a state of shock and prepared to deny it. But then he turns around and looks at Grace and James clinging to each other in my next door neighbor's yard and his face crumbles. He stands up to go to Grace, but I pull him back down beside me.

"I think you've already done enough damage, don't you think?" I regret the harsh words almost instantly. It wasn't Sirius's fault. He didn't know. Now, he looks genuinely sorry sitting on the step beside me with his head in his hands.

Slowly, he lifts his head from his hands and looks in the direction of Grace and James.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asks, softly.

"It happened this morning just after Gracie and James arrived at my house. I didn't find out until the second letter came," I explain.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he apologizes with a shake of his head.

"Tell Gracie that," I reply, realizing that we're both in the same boat.

He's guilt ridden now. I can tell just by the way he continues to stare at Gracie and James that he's really feeling bad about what he did. Abruptly, he turns to me.

"Where's Chris?" he asks, referring to Gracie's little brother.

I open my mouth to tell him, but my tongue gets stuck. We had all known Chris. He'd been a first year last year. He was like a little brother to me. But Chris was always close to the Marauders. They had been training him to be a Marauder. I remember how much fun James, Remus, and particularly Sirius had teaching him everything they knew and allowing him to occasionally accompany them on their midnight strolls around the castle and their latest prank. I almost smile, recalling how furious Gracie had been when she learned of the Marauder's intentions for her brother. She tried to talk him out of it but Chris was so excited. When she realized that she couldn't persuade him to change his mind she blew up at the Marauders for corrupting her innocent little brother.

But now he'll never get to be a Marauder.

"Lily, where's Chris?" Sirius asks again, desperately.

I look at him sadly, trying to communicate the message silently with my eyes. Sirius though is one of those people that need to hear a confirmation. I struggle and do my best to keep my composure. Bravely, I manage to form the words and spit them out.

"He died too," I whisper.

Sirius swears loudly, ducking his head and covering it with his hands. I can hear him softly cursing under his breath, as he uselessly yanks at his black hair. I slump against the steps, dealing with my own pain and unsure of how to comfort Sirius.

Suddenly, he freezes.

"How'd it happen?" he asks in a muffled voice, from somewhere behind his black hair and hands.

"House attack… Murder." I'm having trouble stringing words together to form sentences, my head's still reeling hours after it happened.

"They were murdered?" His head pops up into view again and suddenly I'm looking into his sad dark eyes, shining with unshed tears.

I nod, afraid that I'll start crying again if I try to speak.

Sirius turns his head, a weird expression crossing his face. I study his profile and realize with a shock that Sirius Black is actually thinking. Odd, I've never seen Sirius think before. It scares me.

The reflective Sirius moment is short lived. Shortly afterward, his eyes dull and his head drops.

"I should've known." Sirius's head disappears again, his fingers once again ripping and tearing at his hair feverishly. I'm afraid he's going to pull it out. I watch him warily, wishing I could help him, but knowing that there's nothing I can do.

"I'm so stupid, so incredibly stupid,"

Never thought I'd hear Sirius Black admit the truth, but lo and behold there's a first time for everything. It's a shame, a real shame that Gracie's family had to die, I would have had so much blackmail the next time they try to prank us.

That is if things ever return to the way they used to be.

I turn and look for Grace and James and find them walking back to the house side by side. James has his arm flung around Gracie's shoulders, and Gracie's leaning into him, looking worn out. The tiger's escaped but it left an empty shell behind.

I nudge Sirius and we both look up.

No smiles, no greetings, not a word or a flicker of emotion passes between us. Sirius stares at Gracie, and Gracie refuses to look at anything except her sneakers. Sometime during this silent encounter James meets my eyes. His face doesn't move a muscle but I know exactly what's on his mind.

"Let's go," I say softly, touching Sirius's arm.

We get to our feet, and I open the door for them. Sirius goes in first, constantly glancing over his shoulder at Gracie. His face is impassive and pale, his mouth drawn into a tightlipped line, but his eyes betray him as they continue to wander back to Gracie. James and Gracie follow Sirius. James is supporting her, holding up her fragile body. Gracie looks like she's just been run over a train, twice and then fallen off her broomstick from 200 feet up. But of course there's never any blood or bruises. All of the pain is in her face and the look in her eyes. It's in the slow, sluggish, weary movements, the fatigue, and the way she's leaning on James for support. They're all symptoms of an internal injury, hidden from the naked eye, but that everyone is still aware of. In Gracie's case it's a bleeding heart, a fatal wound that will never completely heal.

James is the last of the three. He's the only thing that's holding Gracie up. Without him, I know she would collapse. But James hangs on, tenderly helping her through the door and into the living room, moving slowly and taking great care with each step. Our eyes meet once more and again I'm aware of our silent connection.

He turns and takes Gracie to the fireplace. I close the screen door behind me and then join them. After a brief search I locate the pouch of floo powder that James removed from his pocket earlier this morning when we originally thought we were going to Gracie's house. That's no longer an option.

I hand the pouch off to first Sirius and then to James, who takes enough for both him and Gracie. Sirius steps into the flickering emerald green flames first, and says something that I don't quite catch. He's gone before I can blink twice. James helps Gracie over, and starts to step into the fire.

"Wait!" I yell.

But James and Gracie disappear in a flash and a billow of smoke.

And suddenly I'm alone in my living room with my things for school, a blazing green fire, a nearly empty pouch of floo powder, and one horrible realization.

They left me.

I want to cry, this day just keeps getting better and better and it all began with me dreaming that I was dying. I wish I had kept my eyes closed and rolled over to watch my tragic end. I want to turn back time, wipe the slate clean, and get to Gracie's house to warn her parents before anything can happen to them. But even in the magical world it's impossible.

I drop onto the couch, clutching the pillow to my chest. You see I'm muggleborn, meaning I lived in a world where people do not travel by fireplace, or pop out of thin air for the first eleven years of my life. I've never traveled by floo powder in all my life, but I know from watching people, how it's done. But how do you get to their house? What stops you from landing in someone else's fireplace? Do I just go in there and shout James Potter's House? I recall vaguely a memory of Gracie flooing to her house, calling out a word or a name, "Glenwood". What word brings me to Potter's house? If I just say Glenwood would that do the trick? I'm so confused! What do I do now?

_Pop._

I whip around at the sound of a noise behind me, but there's nothing there. I get up and go to the window, thinking that maybe one of my parents might be back. But when I pull back the curtain, the driveway's empty.

It must have been my imagination. I lay back down on the couch, curling up, and resting my head on the pillow. Why would they leave me? They must know I don't know how to get to their house, they must. Maybe they want some time with the family to grieve. Sirius is like family to them. Apparently, I'm not. I'm hurt by this, but Gracie's not exactly in a position to vouch for me, so perhaps it's better this way. I'll just meet them at Hogwarts on the 4th. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Wait! What about the funeral? Do wizards even have funerals?

_Creak._

There it is again! The noise! I stop and hold my breath. I hear a second creak, and I wait for another. My heart's beating so loudly in my ears that I doubt I would be able to hear anything. So one minute, then two, then three, passes and I hear only my breathing. It's nothing to worry about because it was probably just the fridge, or um, I really don't have a clue. Maybe Shakespeare crashed into the window again! James might be trying to contact me! I almost jump up, to go check, but something makes me stay where I am.

_Creak. _

Did I just hear another creak? No, must be just me, hearing things. Funny, but I thought it sounded like someone was walking around upstairs making the floor boards creak. Obviously it was just my imagination. I swear I am getting so paranoid and jumpy after everything's that happened today. It's all Potter's fault. He left me here without saying a word, stranded me really. What a jerk.

_Creak. Creak. Creak._

What is that? It's really starting to annoy me. Maybe I should go and investigate. Shakespeare might be lying unconscious in my room, seriously injured and desperately trying to get my attention. It's probably nothing.

That's when I hear it, the low murmur as if someone is speaking. Then there's a higher murmur as if it's a second voice answering the first. There's the creaking again, heading for the direction of the steps. It's probably nothing. I slowly get to my feet. But it's probably nothing. I tiptoe toward the doorway. It's probably nothing. My mind flashes back to what James said earlier.

"_Lily your parents might be in danger if we stay here."_

My hand goes to my pocket, and I take out my wand.

It's nothing. I'm just being paranoid, hearing sounds that only exist in my head. I creep out of the living room and into the hall. The hall's bathed in the faint light coming from the fireplace in the next room over. I use the eerie emerald light to guide me silently down the hall. Suddenly it goes out, and I'm stranded blindly in the darkness. Great, now I can't see anything.

I pause, and swallow hard, trying to rid myself of the fear that's taken possession of me. Just calm down. It's just your imagination so, just calm down.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

My heart jumps into my mouth and I start to sweat. Someone's coming down the steps. No, two people are coming down my staircase. Oh, my god. I think about turning around and running in the opposite direction, flying back to the fireplace and flooing to "Glenwood", "Diagon Alley", anywhere but here. But then I think of my parents and what a coward I am. I force myself to move and take a tiny step. There's another pause and then I take another brave step. Baby steps. I'm a Gryffindor, I can do this. I stay with my back pressed against the wall, moving quietly toward the stairs.

"Did you check all the rooms?"

I freeze, that wasn't some voice in my head. There really is someone here.

"Yes, I did a double check of all the rooms after you went through them."

Two people! There are two men in my house!

"And?"

"They have to be downstairs."

They're searching for something, but for what…? Wait a second.

"Even if they didn't come here, the girl might be able to tell us where they are."

Me. They're looking for James, Gracie and _me_.

"Check all the rooms. We don't leave until this house has been searched from top to bottom."

They know I'm here. They're going to search the whole house. They're going to find me.

Damn it!

I wheel around, my first instinct to run back to the living room and leap into the fireplace. But a black cloaked, hooded figure blocks the living room doorway. I clasp a hand over my mouth, silencing a scream. My head grows faint and a shiver runs the length of my spine as a masked face glances in my direction. Then he disappears into the living room.

He didn't see me. I lower my hand and exhale. But they're going too. I'm shaking uncontrollably, sweating and getting dizzy. I close my eyes, take a breath, and then open them. They're going to find me if I stay here and even though I've never met these people in my entire life, I doubt that they're going to ask me to join them for tea when they find me. Not with that mask, not after what James said about the deaths and the Ministry break in.

I see a black shape flit through the doorway. Serial Killer #1 is still in the living room. Maybe I can make it to the back door. I start to tiptoe down the hall, Serial Killer #2 sweeps past me, and blocks my only hope at escaping.

Thanks a lot buddy! Now, I'm trapped.

I look left and Serial Killer #1 is there in the living room. I look right and there's Serial Killer #2 putting up a barrier, the same kind of barrier I used to separate Gracie and Sirius on the front stoop earlier. There's no way I can get to the backdoor, and besides I think my friend here has ESP because I hear him muttering the same spell, closing down another departure gate.

If I ever live through this I am going to personally make sure that my parents install at least three more exits in my house for my convenience, put hundreds of windows in the hall way, and force the Ministry to lower the Apparation age to 16 instead of 17. If I was just one year older, I could pop right out of here, but nooooo, I need to wait until I'm 17. I hate them.

"There was someone here!" Serial Killer #1 cackles in the living room. No kidding! Wow, I'm telling you, these guys are bright.

Serial Killer #2, just to show off and make my life a heck of a lot shorter, pops into the living room doorway, right smack dab in front of me. I almost have a heart attack, but his back is too me, and his big black hood blocks his friend from seeing me.

"Ah, yes, I see. There was someone here not too long ago." Geniuses, these guys must have been at the top of their class.

He glides into the living room, neither of them paying any heed to the hallway, and the girl they're looking for, only a few feet behind them. If they had just glanced in my direction they would have saw me raise my wand and mouth the spell that would bring them to their grave.

Yea, I wish. But unfortunately this is real life, not some muggle movie reel.

"_Stupefy_!"

Down Serial Killer #2 falls, face down on the carpeted floor of the hallway. SCORE! Gleefully, I raise my wand and prepare to stun my next victim.

"_Stupefy_!"

Serial Killer #1 ducks and dives under the coffee table. My victory dance will have to be postponed. I run to the living room, stopping in the doorway. I point my wand in the direction that he disappeared and fire as many stunning, disarming, hexes and curses that I know, but when I stop and turn on the lights. I realize that I've been damaging everything in the room except for Serial Killer #1.

Crap! Serial Killers or not, Mom's going to murder me when she sees this mess I've made of her _parlor_. Now, I really want to kill him. Where'd he go?

I move cautiously into the room, listening and watching the room for any sudden movement. It's a lot easier now that I can actually see where I am and what I'm doing, but Serial Killer #1 is still M.I.A. I think he got away. Coward! Go ahead and run like a baby to your mommy. Wait until she finds out you were beaten by a girl.

Well, at least he won't be coming ba-

_Pop._

I whip around, and Serial Killer #1 grins and grabs me by the throat. Stupid Apparation! Why can't they change the age to 16? With his free hand he removes my wand, letting it fall to the floor with a clatter. Then he watches with pleasure as I gasp for breath, and claw at the strong hand cutting off my air supply.

"This is always the fun part," he cackles, his eyes gleaming from behind his mask with an insane light.

Um, I disagree.

I fight and struggle against him, but he just tightens his fingers around my fragile throat, squeezing the life out of me. No! My vision's blurring, tiny stars and silver bubbles popping before my fading eyes. NO! NO!

I can't die now, I'm still a virgin, I haven't even been kissed yet! You can't die before you have your first kiss. It's just not right! I think about telling him this, because I'm sure that once he hears this he'll let me live. Haha, what world do you live in Evans? Besides I can't say anything when I can't breathe.

Everything's hazy and grey, my body's gone numb.

Looks like I'm going to die without my kiss. I just wish that he wasn't the last thing I had to look at before I die. I mean, he's not attractive, at all. Merlin, couldn't you have spared me? I'd rather look at Petunia than this psychopath.

I see a weird flash of light and hear a voice shout something as my world goes silent and black. But now I hear an echo, a clamoring of voices from all directions. Green. Everything's green. Why?

A baby wails, and someone laughs sending chills down my spine. And everything's silent and still as if time has been frozen in a single photograph that I'm stuck inside of, tinted with a greenish hue, so unlike the color of my eyes.

I don't understand, it's as if I'm looking through two different set of eyes, responding to two different mind sets. Was this how James felt when the aliens inhabited his body? But why does it seem so familiar and yet so strange? Somewhere in the confusion of our thoughts I separate two similar ideas, the crying baby and…James?

**A/N**: _Sorry if I replied to your review and you didn't want me too, I'm just overly excited about the new feature. I think its awesome! Next chapter will be up soon!_

_Edited_


	6. Who Are You?

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_JK Rowling owns the world, I just manipulate it. _

_A/N: Thanks again to everyone that took the time to review! I really appreciate it. I hope you like this one!_

**Chapter 5: Who Are You?**

"WAKE UP!"

Well, I never thought that this was how I would be greeted upon arrival into the afterlife. I was looking for more of a "Welcome!" "Hello!" heck, even "Howdy!" or "Hey, how you doing?" would've been nice but never "WAKE UP!" I try to open my eyes but my poor eyelids are like lead. Is this some kind of trick?

"I hate to do this Lily, I'm really sorry, but I have to-"

_SPLASH!_

Cold water! Freezing, cold water poured in my hair, now dripping down my neck and on my blouse. Suddenly, I find my energy reserve. My eyes snap open and I bolt upright spluttering. Someone dumped a vase of water on me. How dare them!

I search for the culprit and find a familiar face with unruly black hair falling in front of his glasses. I look at him, wondering what kind of life after death thing this is supposed to be, because it's certainly not heaven. I'm still in my mother's parlor - which is still a disaster zone - and the person sitting in front of me -

"Who are you?" I ask, my mind drawing a blank.

His eyes widen.

"Did they hit you over the head as well?" he asks me, looking at me as if I've grown a sixth head.

I stare at him, blinking, wondering why his name isn't coming to me. I'm cold, I realize, because I'm all wet. Some jerk – the familiar boy, whose name I can't recall - decided to dump a vase of freezing cold water on me.

"Lily it's me James-"

"POTTER!" I snarl, my memories flooding back to me. Just a temporary relapse! I'm fine now. For some odd reason he looks younger than I remember, and didn't he just die? Wait. No, that was me. Are we both dead? The room with the green light, a baby crying, a chilling laugh - it flashes before my eyes and then it slips to the back of my mind.

I'm wet, my mother's parlor's a mess, and Potter's with me. Nope, either we're in hell or I'm alive.

"Why'd you- OW!" My hand flies to my sore neck and I notice the aching pain. Yes, I believe I am very much alive. Mr. Serial Killer must have let me live after all and I'm sure he dirtied my flesh with his soiled fingernails.

Tenderly, James removes my hand.

"Don't touch. It's badly bruised. My mom will look at it when we get back," he assures me.

I bite down on my lip, trying not to move or touch my neck.

"Does anything else hurt? Can you stand? Did they do anything other than try to strangle you?" he asks, holding onto my hand and helping me to my feet.

"Other than scare the hell out of me and cause psychological damage?"

James quietly chuckles and relief spreads across his face.

"I take it you're alright then," he concludes.

"Um, no. Actually, I'm soaking wet and freezing cold because somebody decided that I needed a shower-" I begin angrily, but James cuts me off.

"I'm sorry Lily but you weren't waking up fast enough and we really need to get out of here."

"Serial Killer #1 and 2!" I gasp.

"What?" James asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Where are they?" I race to the doorway and look into the hallway. But I find nothing there but a blood stain from Serial Killer #2's nose when I stunned him and he fell face down on the carpeted floor of the hallway. I spin, moving my neck and causing it to burn with excruciating pain. Even with all the pain from turning one hundred and eighty degrees, Serial Killer #1 isn't there either.

They're gone!

"Oh! You mean those two murderers, the ones that tried to kill you!" James spits out, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Yeah, those two. Are they still here? Wait. What happened? How'd you get here?" I ask addressing James for the first time.

"Floo powder," he answers.

Suddenly, I'm angry. No, I'm furious. Now, I remember exactly whose fault it is that my neck is hurting me and why Potter has always been, and always will be a JERK.

I walk right up to him and jab my index finger into the center of his chest.

"You left me!" I yell.

James brushes my hand away, taking a step closer to me.

"You think I left you? You were supposed to be right behind me! I handed you the floo powder!" James shouts, shoving a trembling hand holding an invisible floo powder pouch underneath my nose. We're both shaking and I don't know whether it's because we're angry or because of the near death experience that he may or may not have walked in on.

"Exactly! But -" I interrupt, but James keeps going.

"Why'd you stick around until they showed up? You knew I had to floo Gracie back," his voice is harsh but I see that his eyes have softened.

"I don't know where you live," I finish, drowning out whatever he was going on about next.

"Oh," James says, his mouth forming a perfect "O".

"I forgot about Gracie," I admit guiltily, looking down at my shoes.

An uneasy silence fills the room, broken only by the ticking of the clock I knocked off the mantelpiece earlier when I decided to blow up the living room. As I study my sneakers, I notice that my shoes are practically touching Potter's. I lift my head, and realize just how close we are. But Potter, who was always more than happy to put us in this kind of position and try to grope me, has his head bent and his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"We should uh, really get out of here," I suggest casually, breaking the embarrassing silence.

"Yeah, you're right," James agrees, clearing his throat and looking up.

"Er, James?" I glance around the room, noting the mess that I made in my fruitless attempt to finish Serial Killer #1 off. A white powder dusts the coffee table, looking suspiciously like the floo powder from the now empty floo pouch resting underneath the couch.

"Don't worry I brought more," James chuckles, taking a smaller leather pouch from his pocket and handing it to me. "You are coming with me this time, right?" he asks, holding it out of my reach.

"Sure, but it might help if you tell me where I'm going." I smile.

James takes a handful, big enough for the two of us.

"I'll tell you what, we'll go together," he offers, generously.

"I'd like that." I surprise myself by saying this to him. But of course it's only because I'm a little shaken up after two serial killers came waltzing into my house and decided to kill me for no apparent reason. It's not because Potter is being so nice to me.

"Hey, you never told me what happened," I say, suddenly.

"And _you_ never told_ me_ what happened," he retorts. "We'll swap stories later," he promises when he sees the look on my face. I nod reluctantly, and start toward the fireplace. As I turn and face the living room, two thoughts come to mind.

"Can we do something about this mess?" I ask, knowing that if I leave it like this I probably won't live to see my seventeenth birthday thanks to a very angry Mom.

"They'll take care of it," James says, tugging on my hand, pulling me anxiously toward the fireplace.

"And what about my parents?" I hold back, refusing to leave until I know that they'll be okay.

"They're going to contact them and send them to another safe location," James reassures me.

"Okay." I nod, and then stop with a frown.

"Who are they?" I ask, suspiciously.

"Oh, some Ministry dude that showed up after…sorry what were their names?"

"Serial Killer #1 and #2."

"Yeah, after those two goons took off some idiot, Kenny or something or other-"

"They got away?!" I exclaim, alarmed and angry.

In the movies, the hero gets the kiss, nearly loses their life and then kicks the bad guy's butt to Timbuktu. I didn't get the kiss, yet, but I did everything else except I would've been killed if someone hadn't intervened, and the bad guys got away. That's not supposed to happen. The bad guys are supposed to get taken in by the cops or die, or end up humiliated or on some remote island in the middle of nowhere. But then again, this isn't the life of some action film super hero. This is the life of an ordinary sixteen-year-old witch, Lily Evans.

"I'll tell you everything tonight," James says, squeezing my hand.

"It is tonight." I can't help but laugh, wondering what time it is. This has been the longest day ever.

"Right, well tomorrow then."

"Okay, you promise?" I ask, holding back.

"Will you hurry up and get inside of the fireplace if I do?" James sighs and I nod in reply. "I promise, alright? Now let's get out of here before your Sissy Killers-"

"Serial Killers," I correct him quickly, only slightly insulted that he would refer to them as being girly. I worked hard to kick their butt, and I think I should remind him that I am after all a girl.

"Right Siamese, Sissy, Cereal Boxers whatever they were, just get in here."

I chuckle and hop in beside him. He moves to take the floo powder from me, hanging onto my hand a few seconds longer than he should have.

"Oh, and Lily? Let's get one thing straight." His eyes look deeply into mine and a hurt, serious, expression lines the handsome face that was nearly laughing an instant before. I wait, impatiently wondering what could make him so sad so suddenly.

"I would never leave you," he whispers.

My breath hitches in my throat but he takes the floo powder from me and turns away. The emerald flames engulf us and still I stare at the sixteen-year-old boy standing beside me who I thought I knew so well, but now I barely recognize.

"I know," I reply, softly.

"The Lioness!" James shouts.

A roaring noise fills the air and I can't even hear myself think, let alone speak. The emerald flames blind me and the living room disappears from view. I hang onto the only solid thing left, James. Everything's spinning out of control and I think of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz for some strange reason. I keep on waiting to see a cow flying by or a wicked woman on a bicycle with Toto in her basket, but the only thing I see is the green flames surrounding us, a few flickering images of parlors, basements and various other rooms. I can't be sure, it all happened so quickly, but I could have sworn I was seeing the view from other wizarding home fireplaces. Gracie told me that's why they call it the floo network, or as her younger brother Chris sometimes called it the WWWW.

_"The what?" I asked him once._

_"The Wizarding World Wide Web," he informed me with a roll of his eyes, the same color and shape as Gracie's. "Come on Lil, get with the times." _

_"It sounds like the internet," I laughed._

_"The internet?" His eyes lit up with curiosity. _

_"Don't answer him Lily, or he'll interrogate you all night!" Gracie groaned, but her brother looked up at me with an innocent pleading look written all over his cute little face. So, as usual I ignored Gracie and gave into what would be the beginning of a very long game of twenty questions. But Chris and I were used to this, as we exchanged a knowing grin, we both loved to annoy Gracie, and this was one of our favorite recurring opportunities._

_"Yea, it's some weird computer network thing of the future. It won't be around for at least another ten years but Dad won't stop talking about it. This American guy Al Bore or something or other invented-"_

_"What's a computer?" he interrupted me. _

_"It's like a TV, except-"_

_"Explain to me what the Teetee is again." _

_"It's a TV, and it transmits pictures like movies and shows-"_

_"What's a movie?" _

_"Well there's lots of kind of movies, they're like books. You know romances with gross kissy stuff-"_

_"Oh, like Gracie and Keith do in the broom closet!" he cut in enthusiastically._

_"Exactly, like Keith and Gracie - wait - Keith?" I spun around and faced my best friend whose face was redder than her Gryffindor Quidditch robes._

_"You're dating Keith Abbott?" I giggled and glanced between the brother and sister._

_"Keith Abbot?" The portrait swings open and three of my _favorite_ people walked into the Gryffindor Common Room. As always they have perfect timing. "Who's dating Keith Abbott?" Black asked, smirking. _

_Lupin, always the observant one - since he's the only one with half a brain - spotted Gracie's tomato face. _

_"Grace?" he gasped._

_"You're dating Abbott?" Potter's mouth dropped open, a mixture of amusement and anger on his face._

_"Keith Abbott!?" Black exclaimed shrilly and mock fainted onto the sofa. "Is this true Chrissy, tell me it's not true!" he moaned dramatically in a girly voice. _

_Gracie didn't answer them and neither did Chris, because suddenly Gracie screamed and launched herself at her younger brother who quickly ran behind my arm chair for protection._

_"YOU ARE SO DEAD!" she screamed, lunging toward him and missing again. _

_Chris giggled and ran for his life._

My memories of happier, Serial Killer free days at Hogwarts with my best friend and her then living younger brother are interrupted by a sudden whooshing noise, as James and I are tossed mercilessly out of the fireplace and onto a hardwood floor.

_Ow_.

At least we're not spinning anymore. Near the end there, I could have sworn I saw a flying cow, but then again maybe it was because after that eternal trip on the revved up merry-go-round, I was really starting to lose it.

It doesn't help matters that I landed on a hardwood floor and something heavy, no wait, someone, is on top of me.

My eyes open and I find a pair of hazel eyes inches away from my own. You know I think this is Déjà vu, I feel like we've already been in this position before. I mean the alarmingly close thing, where I can actually see what color Potter's eyes are. It scares me to think that after having the upper hand all these years, suddenly, James catches me off guard not once but twice in one day. But then again, murder is not an every day occurrence.

If it had been anyone but Potter, I would've had my hero kiss even before the Cereal Boxers, I mean Serial Killers, showed up. But my prince is apparently extremely late.

It takes me only a full ten seconds to finally find my tongue.

"Potter, off!" I groan, shoving him weakly.

"Sorry, Lily." He scrambles off of me, and gets to his feet.

I lie on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. I'm having trouble catching my breath, probably because Potter squished me. Oh, and did I forget to mention the fact that my neck is now killing me!? Taking a trip on the floo powder roller coaster and then landing on the hardwood floor with Potter on top of me was definitely not what the doctor ordered.

"Are you okay?" James asks. His face moves into my line of vision and I see him looking worriedly down at me.

What nerve! Merlin, sometimes even I'm surprised at what an idiot Potter is. He can be such a brainless git at times that I wonder if it's possible that he was born without a brain.

"Oh, yea! Just peachy!" I say with a fake smile, struggling to sit up. He doesn't get the hint.

"Help me up!" I hold out a hand and James quickly grabs it. With his help, I stand up.

"Is your neck still hurting you?" he asks, studying me.

"A little bit," I admit. Wow, Potter does have a brain after all. No where near a full one, but at least something's up there.

"I think my Mom's upstairs."

We landed in a small family room and James leads me out of it and into a hallway. Before we reach the elegantly winding staircase that leads up to a second and perhaps a third floor, I see a tall woman running down the steps to meet us.

"James!"

Right away I realize who she is, not because of the strong resemblance to James, but because of the way she jumps down the last four steps and pulls James into a hug that leaves him gasping for air.

"You're home safe! One second you were looking in on Gracie and then the next I turned around and you were gone. You can't wander off James, especially not at a time like this! Do you realize what a fright you caused for your poor mother? You're going to be the death of me James! Don't you ever do that again, you hear me? "

"Mom-" James squeaks, looking as if his circulation is being cut off by this tall but slender woman.

"But you're home! Thank Merlin, you're alright!" His mother's voice cracks and if anything it appears that she's holding onto James even tighter. I think his face is turning blue.

I turn away, allowing mother and son to have their moment. A pang of sadness hits me as I think of Mom who I left behind and then of someone else who will never again run into the waiting arms of a worried mother who breaks down into tears of joy at the sight of her safe and sound, or hear the laugh of a relieved father as he holds her and kisses her cheek, or get their hair pulled by a pesky little brother who teases and whose laughter rings through the house breaking the tension.

_Gracie_.

I look up at the winding staircase wondering if my best friend's here, sleeping, quietly grieving, or planning the cold blooded murderer's death in a dark room.

"James, you didn't tell me you were bringing home a girl." His mother's voice interrupts my train of thought.

I wheel around and face her. Tall, slender, and beautiful with curly raven hair falling just past her shoulders and large hazel eyes Mrs. Potter reminds me of Gracie's mother. For a moment, I just stand there, speechless. I've seen James's mother from afar, and in passing at Gracie's house a few times, I think we might have been introduced once when I was twelve, but I couldn't remember her ever looking so much like her sister, Hope Adams.

"Hello Mrs. Potter." I smile, regaining my composure.

"Lily? Lily Evans?" she asks softly, laying her hands on my shoulders.

I nod, shyly.

"I didn't even recognize you at first. The last time I saw you, you were only twelve and so small, and now look you've grown into a beautiful young woman."

I blush.

"Oh it's so good to see you!" She embraces me and whispers in my ear, "My son adores you." I blush harder, doing everything I can to avoid looking at James who's peering at me over his mother's shoulder. She pulls back with what must have been a mischievous smile on her tired, blotchy, tear streaked face.

I fight the urge to laugh, because she acts as if it's some sort of secret. I think James himself announced to the entire school, that he wants to go to bed with me. Everyone in Hogwarts knows, and Mrs. Potter, I think James adores everything that's female. Still I find myself turning a brilliant shade of magenta after she tells me this, and I have trouble meeting James's eyes for some odd reason.

Suddenly, her eyes widen.

"You're all wet! And your neck, what happened to your neck?!"

My eyes involuntarily dart to James and Mrs. Potter swings around and glares at her son. James steps back, cowering under her penetrating gaze.

"It was the attackers!" I blurt out. I was looking forward to watching Mrs. Potter kick the crap out of James, but I can't lie to this woman who is obviously NOTHING like her conceited son.

"The attackers?"

"Two wizards showed up at my house… one of them tried to strangle me..." I break off before getting into the details of how I kicked their butt, and cut straight to the point, when I see the haunted look that suddenly appears in the woman's hazel eyes.

"Say no more, I'll get you all cleaned up and better in no time." She takes my arm and pulls me into a room to the left of the winding staircase. "Oh, and James, you have a visitor in the kitchen."

I catch a last glimpse of a perplexed James, going to the right, before Mrs. Potter promptly brings me into the room and shuts the door behind us.

She waves her wand, using a simple drying spell to get me dry again. I feel dumb, knowing that I could've easily done this myself. Mrs. Potter lifts up a mirror on the opposite wall, removing a towel and a bottle containing a brown colored liquid.

"Here wrap this around your neck," she says gently, as she hands the towel to me.

Obediently, I do as I'm told. I feel a little silly with a towel around my neck, but within a few seconds the pain is gone. Turning, I look in the mirror, noticing the bruise for the first time.

I wrinkle my nose in disgust upon seeing the purplish handprint that Serial Killer #1 left on my neck. Cautiously, I touch the rapidly fading bruise, running my hands over the spots where his fingers dug into the flesh intent on ending my short life. Mrs. Potter's sad face appears in the mirror behind me.

"The mark might stay for a while, but you can only notice it if you look closely."

I remove my hand and turn my back on the mirror.

"Drink this. I don't think there was any internal damage, but just to be sure I think you better take some of this." She hands me what looks like a shot glass filled with a brown foaming liquid. Just what I need, a hard drink, even though I've never had one in my life, but hey there's always a time for firsts! I drink it quickly and instantly realize that it's definitely not what I was hoping it would be. Good thing I swallowed it fast, it tastes horrible!

"You're one lucky girl," she tells me. "By the looks of it, you were pretty close to death. If he held on for another ten seconds I think you would've been dead."

Dead? I thought I was dying, but then I woke up and James was there telling me about the Ministry Official, Kenny, or whatever his name was that let them get away. That reminds me. I really have to find out what happened after I passed out. I get the feeling that Serial Killer #1 didn't let go of me just because he suddenly had a change of heart when he realized I hadn't had my first kiss yet and decided to let me live and become a monk. Another question surfaces in my mind.

"Mrs. Potter-"

"Please call me Heather." She smiles.

"Mrs. Po - I mean, Heather, is Gracie here?"

Her smile vanishes and the haunted look returns to her hazel eyes.

"Yes, she's staying here. But I don't think it's a good idea to approach her right now. She's had a rough day," she finishes, busying herself with folding the towel and returning everything to the cabinet.

I know she had a rough day. I was with her through it all.

"You'll be staying with us, I presume?"

"Er, well, I was supposed to stay with Gracie but-" I hesitate, and she interrupts before I even mention Gracie.

"I'll set up a room for you."

"Thanks, Mrs. Potter,"

"Call me Heather," she corrects me.

"Thank you,"

We walk out and she closes the door behind us.

"The room won't take long. I think James is in the kitchen if you're looking for him. It's the first door on your right."

"Thanks." I manage a small smile as we part ways. She climbs the steps, and me, feeling out of place, awkward and extremely curious, end up walking toward the first door on my right.

Hesitantly, I approach the swinging door but I pause outside of it, despite my burning curiosity egging me on. I just feel weird walking in on a closed door conversation, even if it is a swinging door, it's still technically closed, and it's not my house. I start to walk away, thinking that the room might be set up by now and I can go to sleep, but the sound of my name roots me to the spot.

"Lily?!" I recognize James's voice immediately.

"Is that your girlfriend's name? Then yes, I'm afraid it does involve her," a deep unfamiliar male voice rumbles. First of all buddy, I am not his girlfriend, and second of all, what am I involved in?

"But she's muggleborn, her parents are muggles."

So what if I'm muggleborn? It never seemed to stop you from stalking me for the past five years.

The man lowers his voice, and I have to move closer to the door in order to hear what they're saying.

"Have you been reading the paper son?"

No he hasn't!

"Of course."

LIAR! The day James Potter picks up anything and reads it will be the day I eat my shoe.

"Read it carefully, and double check the list of victims again."

Right, like that's going to happen – wait, victims? I lean against the door straining to hear more. Unfortunately, I forget that it's a swinging door. The door swings open, bringing me with it.

_POP!_

The only one in the kitchen is James. It appears that the mysterious visitor with the deep voice has vanished. Stupid Apparation. I didn't even catch a glimpse of the mysterious visitor and I haven't the faintest clue as to what they were discussing.

"Lily!" James gasps.

"James," I say, giving him my best smile. Folding my arms over my chest, I lean against the kitchen table in front of him.

"Who was that?" I inquire, sweetly.

"No one," James lies, failing to meet my eyes.

"Well, then why were you talking to yourself?" I ask, looking directly at him.

James's head jerks up and an amused expression crosses his face.

"You were eavesdropping?" He raises an eyebrow.

"No," I retort, haughtily.

"You were, weren't you?" James presses. A shadow of a smile surfaces on his face.

"Maybe," I reluctantly admit, inspecting my nails.

"I can't believe it, perfect prefect Evans caught red-handed doing the very thing that she wrote me up for doing last year," James laughs, though it's empty and sounds more like a bark.

"Well, I think I have a right to eavesdrop when the conversation concerns me," I snap.

"How long were you standing there?" James frowns.

"Long enough to know that I am NOT your girlfriend and that you do NOT read the paper," I reply.

"He just assumed that you were," James says, quickly.

A likely story.

"You didn't correct him," I point out.

"And besides, you don't read the paper either," James adds.

"Yes, I do! Unlike you Potter I actually know how to read," I shoot back angrily.

"The Daily Prophet?" James's eyebrow disappears in his messy hair and I can see a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

I open my mouth and close it instantly. He has a point.

"Okay, so I don't, but my parents are muggles and I can always read someone else's at Hogwarts," I defend myself. James looks unconvinced so I accept the minor loss and go in for the kill.

"Since you've been reading the paper ever so carefully, why don't you tell me about this list of victims and why it involves me."

This time it's James who's stumped. He runs a hand through his messy hair and leans against the table beside me.

"Well?" I prod, impatiently.

"I don't know," he sighs. His eyes move to his shoes and he shuffles them about. "I don't understand what he was talking about. I mean I read the Daily Prophet, but nothing's making any sense." He shakes his head.

"Maybe, if you told me what you were talking about before I came in, or showed me the Daily Prophet I could figure it out," I suggest casually, recalling the letter Gracie sent me and the information that she had withheld from me, and James had promised to tell me about when we got here.

"Maybe, if you hadn't walked in and interrupted our conversation I'd already know," he answers, kicking my ankle lightly.

"I didn't realize that it was a swinging door," I say sheepishly, kicking him back.

"Sure," James says sarcastically, as he kicks me again.

"So, you're not going to tell me who this mysterious person was?" I ask kicking his ankle a little harder.

"I thought we agreed that I was talking to myself," James quips.

I step on his foot before he can kick me and he looks up. Our eyes meet.

"What's going on?" I ask, seriously.

James exhales, his eyes moving away from mine. I feel his foot slide out from underneath mine. Oh no you don't, you are not getting away. I grab him, placing a hand on his forearm. Reluctantly, he stays put.

"Tell me," I beg, not for the first time. "Please," I plead, tugging gently on his sleeve. I need to know, if I have to wait any longer it's going to drive me insane. Now that my name's come up in the argument, my best friend's family was murdered and I've discovered that there's a list of victims, it's personal.

He looks at me, his hazel eyes sad and dark.

"Not now," he whispers, turning away.

"Then when are you going to tell me?" I ask, maneuvering myself so that I'm in front of him again.

"I told you, not right now," he repeats with a little more force and a touch of volume.

I study his face, and his eyes filled with multiple emotions, all ones that reflect the trial that we went through today with the arrival of a midnight black owl. James doesn't have the strength or the patience to talk, and I am in no mood or position to fight with him. Wearily, I nod my head.

"Okay," I whisper, taking a step back.

He looks mildly surprised but relieved that I've decided to wait. His tense muscles, relax beneath my fingertips, and I notice that I still have a hand wrapped around his left arm. I try to move it, but instead I end up rubbing the spot and discover that my hand seems to have a mind entirely of its own. Our eyes interlock and I feel his hand suddenly go to my waist.

"James is Lily here-"

James jumps and I move away from him at the speed of light.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mrs. Potter, er, Heather apologizes, looking slightly amused in the doorway. The funny thing is she doesn't look sorry at all. In fact her eyes have a hint of mischief dancing in them. It's almost as if she assumes that we were…no…we didn't look like we were…nah…

Then why did I move away from him when she walked in?

She startled me, that's all.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you-"

"You weren't," James speaks up quietly. "Lily and I were just going to bed."

Thank you, James. I send him a small grateful smile.

"Of course. But I think it would be best if Lily would sleep in her own room," his mother continues with that same mischievous glint in her eyes, though her voice is now stern as if she's trying to discipline us.

I'm so tired, but I could have sworn that she was implying something else. I look at James confused. His cheeks look a little pink.

"It's not that I don't trust you two," she hurriedly adds.

James blushes madly and I catch my jaw just in time. My face flushes when I realize how embarrassing this situation is. Now she not only thinks that I'm his girlfriend, but that I actually snog him in her kitchen of all places and that I would actually sleep with her thick headed son.

"But I would prefer it if-"

"Mom!" James interrupts, through gritted teeth. His mother stops in mid sentence, her face the picture of innocence. Now I know exactly where he gets it from. "Lily and I are not sleeping together."

"Of course not dear, now just as long as you two stay in your separate rooms-"

"MOM!"

I would've laughed at James's red face if it hadn't been for the fact that I'm a part of this mortifying scene.

"Okay, Lily your room is on the third floor, three doors on the right," she informs me.

"Thank you," I mumble, my face still flushed with embarrassment as I brush past the two of them and run out of the kitchen.

"Thanks a lot Mom," James's voice carries down the hall after me.

"What did I do?" Heather asks, innocently.

Yea, they're definitely related. Taking the steps two at a time I finally reach the third floor. Three doors to the left and I find the room just where she told me it would be. The door opens easily, and I rush inside and slam it shut behind me.

Thank Merlin, that's over. I don't think that's something I would like to repeat. Imagine snogging, or even, ew, sleeping with him. Yuck, the thought's too horrible to even conceive. It gives me the heebie jeebies. It's like a scene out of a horror movie, I shudder, I writhe at the mention of the idea. I have nightmares about it. I'm sorry Mrs. Potter but unless I'm suddenly struck by lightening that is never, I repeat, NEVER, going to happen.

I push all disgusting thoughts of Potter from my mind and glance around the room. Even in the dim light of a lone candle, I can tell it's spacious and larger than our dining room. I could care less what it looked like even if they gave me a vacancy in the barn I would be thrilled. My eyes fall upon the comfortable looking king sized bed situated by the window. I think I've died and gone to heaven.

Running, I jump onto the soft bed, bouncing a few times and then settling comfortably on my back. I remove my wand, my shrunken belongings and a few scraps of paper from my pocket, placing them on the table beside my bed. I don't bother to change out of my clothes. Right now, I just want to go to sleep.

I lean back into the pillows and close my eyes.

Sleep at last.

Yea, I wish.

_Crrrrreeeaaakkkk._

Ten seconds later, or at least it felt like ten seconds, my eyes snap open at the sound of creaking floor boards. At first I think I'm dreaming, but then I notice the door swinging open as if by some invisible force. Sleepily, I push myself up on my elbows, watching the door through half closed eyes. I blink and rub my eyes, but still, no one's there.

It must've been the wind. No big deal. I lay back and close my eyes again. I hear the door shut. How strange, I don't recall it being very windy tonight but apparently that late summer breeze is really whipping through the house tonight.

I'm so tired that I should've fallen immediately back to sleep, but a second sound causes my body to tense, and all thoughts of sleep to vanish from my mind.

"Harry,"

The name is whispered so softly, that I swear it's a figment of my imagination. Again, I would've drifted off to sleep, if it hadn't been for the fact that the name sent a weird sort of shock through my body. Wide awake, I hold my breath, clutching the sheets to my chest and wondering why I'm so dizzy all of a sudden. My mind buzzes, it's like déjà vu, except I've never known anyone named Harry in my entire life. The feeling passes but now I'm fully aware that I'm not alone in the room. It sounds like there's an animal scurrying toward the closet, or someone tiptoeing to my bedside.

"Harry?"

The voice is closer and louder than the last time and this time I'm sure it's a someone - not a something - that has joined me in the bedroom. Unless animals can talk now, which wouldn't be a huge surprise since we're in the Wizarding World.

After two Serial Killers arrived unannounced in my house you'd think I would've learned something. But the name provokes a curious feeling and the voice is quiet and childlike. Instead of reaching for my wand, I stay still with my eyes wide open and stare up at the ceiling. Patiently, I wait, and then-

"Harry I'm scared, I had a nightmare-" the voice stops abruptly, and I roll over to face the child that mistook me for this mysterious Harry person. A small girl with a head full of dark curls looks back at me fearfully.

I regain my composure, and smile kindly at the child who can't be more than six years old. This little harmless girl nearly gave me a heart attack. She backs up a step into a shaft of light streaming in from the window. Bathed in the moonlight, I notice her brown eyes wide and full of fear and confusion. She's almost as shocked as I am.

"Hi, I'm Lily. What's your name?" I ask in a soothing voice.

"Where's Harry?" she asks, tearfully. Her eyes are watering and I can tell by her blotchy red eyes that this won't be the first time she's cried today.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me your name and we can go look for him?" Very slowly and carefully I sit up and start to get out of bed. Cautiously, I approach the trembling girl who's now wildly looking around the room in terror and confusion.

"Is he your Dad?" I ask softly, kneeling down in front of her.

She shakes her head, tossing the midnight black curls from her face, revealing an untreated gash on her chest, slashes on her shoulder and a black and blue around her left eye. I notice dried blood on her garments which are too big for her, way too big for her. Who is this girl?

"What happened to you?" I ask, horrified by the sight and condition of her injuries.

"Where's Harry?" she asks again, louder this time with tears coursing down the front of her face. "Where is he? WHO ARE YOU?"

"I'm Lily. Who's Harry?" I echo, reaching for my wand. Intent on healing her, I aim it at the gash on her chest, but the girl screams at the sight of the wand and clambers onto the windowsill.

"Wait!" I plead. "Who are you?"

But the girl jumps and disappears into the night.

**A/N:** _Okay I lied. I hope to have one more chapter up this weekend, then it will probably be back to weekly updates. __I know you're probably confused, but stick with me. It will make sense eventually. _

_Edited_


	7. I'm Falling

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_You know the deal._

**Chapter 6: I'm Falling**

The curtains blow in the gentle night breeze, causing the moonlight to dance across the bedroom floor. Not a sound penetrates my waiting ears. Even the breeze, toying with the curtains, is mysteriously silent. I stand rooted to the floor, waiting for the girl to reappear. But she doesn't.

"NO!"

Racing to the window, I grasp the sill with both hands and lean out. My head spins when I see the ground so far below. I'm on the third floor, three stories up from the bushes beneath the window. From here they look so small. They're no bigger than an ink bottle. And somewhere down below, broken and lifeless is an innocent child, who jumped fearfully from the window because of me.

"Oh no," I moan in despair, dropping my head on my arms. Merlin, this can't be happening to me. Why me? I didn't want to hurt her! I only wanted to help her! Why'd she have to jump? Now I'll have to live with this for the rest of my life. Every step I take I'll have this weight upon my chest, knowing that a child died because I scared her.

My eyes sting with unshed tears. I have no more tears left, but the sorrow is unending. It's like a bottomless pit that ensnares the senses and encloses you like a fog.

Suddenly, I'm crouched on the windowsill, poised and ready to jump, and the funny thing is, I have no idea how I got there. But that's where I am now, blinded by grief and guilt and not fully aware of my actions. Shakily, I remove my hands from the sill and start to stand on unsteady legs.

_One_.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

_Two_.

"LILY!?"

_Three_!

For one glorious moment I'm free, soaring through the air. I can fly! The moment's short lived because suddenly I'm flat on my stomach, aching all over.

_Ouch_.

Well, I take it I survived the fall…barely. I force myself to move, pressing my palms against the black shingles. Wait a minute, this isn't grass! From the window it looked green, and there was bushes and grass, but this is definitely not greenery. Pushing myself up, I lift my head and find to my surprise that I'm on a…roof?

"LiiiiillllllllYYYYYYY!"

I look up. INCOMING!

_CRASH!_

Too late.

Someone lands on the roof and I fall back on my stomach again. Painfully, I try to push myself up to investigate, but whoever it is, is sitting on my legs.

"Can you, er, move?" I ask whoever it is that's behind me.

Silently, someone moves over and finally freeing my legs. Two strong familiar hands grasp my shoulders and they help me sit up. I lean back against the house and turn to look at the person that foolishly jumped after me and probably paralyzed me. I shouldn't be surprised to see him, after fate has thrown us together for over twelve hours of unwanted bonding time, but I am.

"Potter," I groan.

"Wasn't that fun?" Potter asks, breathlessly.

"What part of that did you find fun? Was it when I fell face first on a roof or when you decided to turn my legs into useless pancakes?" I wonder.

"Both!"

I knew he was going to say that. Why did I ask?

"What's wrong?" he asks, tilting his head. "You don't seem happy to see me."

"That's because I'm not," I reply, rolling my eyes. I thought that was obvious.

"You are too," he insists, poking me.

"I am not," I retort.

"Are too," James counters.

"I AM NOT!"

"Liar, you're really secretly thrilled to see me, but you're too stubborn to admit it," he says with a devilish grin.

I snort. Dream on, pretty boy.

"Right, Potter. Just like I secretly love you but I'm too scared to profess my undying love for you," I answer, sarcastically.

"I knew it!" he exclaims, gleefully.

It's no use arguing with him. Believe me, if I tried we'd be here all night and it still wouldn't get through that thick Quidditch obsessed, perverted pea sized brain of his. So I let him ramble a bit, tuning him out as I try to remember why I jumped in the first place.

The girl!

"You've loved me since the first year Evans. I knew that if I waited a bit, you would see things my way – Hey Evans, what do you think you're doing?"

He grabs the back of my shirt and pulls me away from the edge of the roof.

"Let go of me Potter!" I snarl, crawling back to the gutter again. But James resists, and yanks me back again as if I'm on a leash.

"Where are you going?" he asks me.

"To the ground, that was my original intent before this random roof materialized out of nowhere." I look up, wondering how I couldn't possibly see this landing from my window.

James chuckles and as if reading my mind he replies quietly, "You wouldn't be able to see it from the window, wizarding homes are built differently than your muggle houses. We use magic, not everything coincides with the usual geometric laws of matter and gravity in our world."

"Oh." Weird, sometimes I feel like I'm on another planet.

"So, why were you trying to escape?" James asks again. "Am I really that bad?" he jokes with a mock hurt expression on his face.

"No," I admit, and his face lights up with a smug smile. "I mean, yes, you really are that bad." The grin dissolves, and his shoulders slump. "But the real reason why I tried to jump was because this little girl showed up in my room and she jumped out the window when I approached her."

"So, I wasn't the reason why you jumped!"

"No," I sigh, remembering that someone had been calling my name and James had fallen out of the sky and on top of me moments later. But that would mean that James had been in my room.

"What were you doing in my room?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

James gapes at me, but has nothing to say.

God, he is such a pervert! If it wasn't for the fact that his aunt, uncle and cousin just died and his mother is so nice, I would push him off the roof right now.

"You're sick!" I spit, with disgust.

"No, it's not what you think," Potter stammers.

"Walking into a girl's room when the door's closed? Who does that? Only people with one thing on their mind and that's-"

"It wasn't your room," he interrupts.

"Of course not, but you were right there when your mom told me what room I would be sleeping in."

"Third floor, three doors to the _right_," James repeats, putting emphasis on the word right as if it's some secret code word that I'm supposed to pick up on.

"You even memorized it!" I stop and it starts to sink in.

Three doors to the _right_.

_"Where's Harry?"_

I went three doors to the _left_.

My hand flies to my mouth.

I slept in Harry's bed.

"Oh my god!" I whisper, flushing in embarrassment. Some poor guy was out of a bed and this poor little girl got the scare of her life when she found me sleeping in her Dad/Brother/whoever's bed.

"I heard someone yelling so I went to investigate, and what do I find but Ms. Lilllian Evans trying to jump out the window," James continues, sending me a curious look.

"I'm sorry," I hastily apologize. "I made the mistake of going left instead of right. When I saw the candlelit room and the empty bed, I just assumed that it was my room."

"That's okay, everyone makes mistakes, even perfect prefect Lillian Evans," he laughs loudly. "I can't believe it!" Then he starts having convulsions, when he sees the offended look on my face. I swear he laughed for ten minutes straight. Okay, so I made a small error, but does he really have to go and rub it in? It's not necessary, but this is Mr. I'm-Better-Than-Everyone-Else so I guess it is.

"Unbelievable, that room's been locked for as long as I can remember," he recalls, his amusement turning to puzzlement. "I just don't get it, Mom forbid me to enter that room, mind you she always had the door locked with every spell you could think of, I tried everything."

I don't doubt it. James Potter has enough curiosity to kill a million cats.

"And tonight, of all nights, I discover the door wide open and you jumping out the window." He scratches his head.

"Has it really been locked, or are you just making this up?" I ask, intrigued by this tidbit of mysterious information.

"I swear, just ask my mom! Countless times she threatened to cut my ear off if I continued to try that unmovable doorknob," James replies, and I know he's not kidding.

We lapse into silence, me contemplating why the door was always locked and why it suddenly opened for me tonight, and James lost in thoughts about Merlin only knows what. His attention span isn't all that long so I imagine that his mind's already halfway to Mars by now.

I should've remembered that James Potter is always full of surprises and tonight is no different.

"Honestly, the way that Mom went on about that door, you'd think she was keeping a chimaera in there. But it's just an ordinary bedroom." He frowns, dwelling over the same thing I was. Wow, this is unusual, Potter and I are thinking along the same lines.

"It's Harry's bedroom," I blurt out suddenly.

"What?" Potter asks, looking at me.

"It's Harry's bedroom," I repeat, loud enough for him to hear.

"Who told you that?" A funny look crosses his face.

"That little girl, the one I was telling you about. She jumped out the window when I tried to approach her. Remember?" Wasn't he listening to me at all?

James thinks for a moment and then suddenly sits up excitedly with a grin.

"A little girl, you say? Did she have curly black hair, looked about seven, and was about this high." He raises his hand, illustrating the child's height.

"Yes!" I nod enthusiastically. So I'm not crazy, James saw her too. Hang on a second, the little girl looked awfully similar to James and his Mom. Oh wow, I am so stupid, all this time it's been right in front of my face. I could hit myself for being so dumb.

"Why didn't you tell me that you had a little sister!?" I exclaim.

"Because I don't have one!" James replies, laughing.

"Oh." Well, that puts a damper on things. Mystery unsolved but Detective Lily will not give up!

"Er, she was your cousin?" I try again.

"Nope."

"Second cousin?"

"Nope."

I'm getting discouraged.

"Third?"

James shakes his head.

"Neighbor? Niece? Friend of family? Long lost adopted relative? Daughter?"

"No, no, no, no - WHAT?!" James shouts, his eyes widening.

"I'll take that as a no," I say, crossing something out with an imaginary pen on an imaginary clip board.

"Lily, I'm sixteen!" James exclaims, gaping at me.

"Hey, with your reputation, one can never be too sure." I smirk, muffling a laugh.

Apparently, James doesn't find it nearly as funny as I do. In fact he looks as if he's just fallen off of his broomstick and sustained life threatening injuries. Wouldn't that be awful? Just the thought, threatens to send me into a fit of giggles.

"Is that what you think of me?" he asks softly, in a hurt voice.

Tactfully, I avoid answering this question, forcing a laugh.

"Oh, cheer up James! I was just kidding about the kid." I punch him playfully, and he seems to lighten up…a little bit.

Oh well, not my problem. He's the one that went out and dated just about every girl in the school and then had the audacity to ask me, of all people, out on a date, not once, but several times in front of people. I don't regret what I said. It's about time he wakes up to reality and realizes how people really see him. At least that's how the sane people view him, a select list which includes myself, Grace, and well, myself. There are others but I can't remember their names at the moment.

Moving on…

"If she's not your illegitimate child, then who is she?" I ask, looking at anything but James.

"She's probably just a figment of your imagination," he snaps.

"Ah, so we're both suffering from hallucinations now?" I chuckle.

James grunts in reply. He's really mad about this whole daughter thing. It's kind of ironic that he's one of the infamous Marauders and yet he can't take a joke, but then again, perhaps I didn't intend for it to be one.

"You did see her, right?"

Another grunt. Wow, Potter's bilingual. I'm impressed. In Troll, I think that means yes or was it no? It's a shame that I can't comprehend Troll.

"I'm pretty sure I wasn't dreaming, unless of course we had the same dream, which would be highly unlikely and a little scary," I babble on and James grunts during the pauses. After awhile it starts to get on my nerves.

"James," I sigh.

_Grunt_.

"For Merlin's sake! Quit sulking!" I explode, frustrated with the lack of response on the other end, or rather, the lack of coherent replies.

"I'm not sulking!" he insists.

"Sure, you aren't," I snort.

"I'm not!"

"Whatever you say James," I sigh again, giving up.

Minutes pass by and Potter continues to sulk, but I'm patient, most of the time. I lean back against the side of the house, looking up at the stars. It's a nice night for star gazing, a full moon, no clouds, warm air, and a cool breeze. If I was at home, I might've gone into my backyard and laid on my back in the grass.

"Do you like looking at the stars?" James asks, suddenly. I turn to look at him, only slightly surprised to find him staring openly at me.

"Sometimes," I whisper, glancing back up at the sky.

Immediately, I'm lost in a whirlwind of memories. I remember when I was a little girl, on warm clear summer nights my Dad would take me outside and teach me the names of the constellations. All those nights with Dad paid off when I arrived and Hogwarts and discovered that Astronomy was one of our main subjects. Many a night I recall sitting by the window, looking at the stars and missing Dad and Mom. Thinking about my parents, makes me think of Gracie and Mark, Hope and Chris, so I try to get my mind off of it.

But when I look back again, he's gone.

"James?"

Fearfully, I clamber to the edge of the roof where he had once been sitting, but a hand grabs me from behind. Spinning, I find James clinging to the edge of the roof holding a hand out to me.

"I want to show you something," he whispers. Then his head disappears from view.

I peek over the edge and notice a vine growing up the side of the house. James is already on his feet in the grass down below. He beckons for me to follow his lead, gesturing to the vine as if I'm an idiot.

"Do you want me to come up there and help you?" he calls, noticing my hesitation.

"No, I may be a girl James, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm helpless," I answer, haughtily.

"I didn't mean it that way, I just meant-" James breaks off in a sigh, and I'm happy to say that I climbed down that vine faster than a monkey with no problem at all. I had my eyes screwed shut the whole time, and I think I could have easily jumped off the roof and made it safely to the ground, but that's beside the point, I was very proud of myself.

"So, what did you want to show me?" I ask, regaining my composure and brushing myself off.

"Come with me." James takes me by the hand and leads me into the woods.

What am I thinking, going with Potter into the woods? To be honest with you, I think I temporarily misplaced my brain. Everything's so mixed up, it's like I'm still walking in a bad dream.

"Is it far?" I ask nervously, glancing back in the direction of the rapidly disappearing house.

"Why, are you scared?" James teases with a mischievous grin.

"No!" I protest. Should I be scared?

James chuckles and tugs on my hand, pulling me deeper into the forest.

If he tries to rape me, I swear I'm going to scream loud enough for the whole universe to hear me. James Potter will not, I repeat, will not, live to see the light of day if he tries to even breathe on me. I untangle my fingers from his and slip my hand into my pocket. I discover to my relief that my wand's still there.

"Relax, Evans," James chuckles.

"I am!" I say a little too quickly, betraying a tremor of anxiety in my voice. He must've noticed because suddenly he stops me in my tracks.

"Don't you trust me?" he asks, softly.

"I don't know," I admit, pressing my hand against a tall oak tree.

His hand reaches up, brushing something off of my shoulder. I look up at him, and notice that the sad, injured expression has never left his face. He's coming closer to me, his fingers tucking a strand of hair behind my ears.

"Lily, you know I would never hurt you," he whispers in my ear.

The look in his eyes is so intense, that I'm hypnotized. I hesitate too long and suddenly Potter's leaning in. No, I can see exactly where this is going and I am going to personally make sure that it won't happen.

Taking an unsteady step backwards, I clumsily fall back against the tree. A twig snaps, and I notice his face suddenly inches away from mind. His hand rests on the tree, just above my left shoulder. I look down at the ground, afraid that if I look in his eyes something out of my control might just happen.

I can't breathe because he's so damn close to me. What is wrong with this guy? Can't he take a hint? I only want him to get away from me, so I can exhale and find out why I'm so dizzy all of a sudden. Get away from me Potter, you're invading my space! My tongue's stuck. Frantically, I search for words, but my brain has temporarily gone into snail mode.

"Is that what you tell every girl?" I laugh darkly, when I finally manage to think of something to say. A sharp intake of breath and his hand leaves my shoulder. I exhale, the dizziness subsiding. Finally, I lift my eyes, daring to look at him. He's standing a few feet away from me with his back to me.

Oddly enough, I feel sympathetic toward Potter. Huh? Wait, are we thinking about the same Potter here? This is the same guy that hung Severus Snape upside down from his underwear and dated half the females in the Wizarding World. Get real Lily! But still, he just lost some of his closest relatives, he's not himself!

"James," I feel compelled to speak. Hesitantly, I take a step toward him. He hears me approaching but he doesn't turn, instead his head lifts as if he's looking up at the stars.

"You're not just any girl, Lily Evans," he breathes.

I freeze.

Why of all the eligible bachelors in the universe does it have to be Potter that says all these things to me? If it was any other guy, I would've melted. But because it's coming from Potter, the guy that spits out these lines as if they're a hello or a goodbye, they're meaningless.

"You're right Potter, I'm not just any girl. I actually have a brain," I retort.

James wheels around.

"That's not what I meant," he continues in that pitiful, injured tone that's starting to drive me crazy. I suppose he thinks he can get any girl he wants by doing this. Obviously, he doesn't realize that it won't work that way when a girl actually has a brain.

"But it's the truth, isn't it?" I ask, harshly.

He doesn't reply. Instead he looks at the ground. I roll my eyes. He's so pathetic. How can anyone actually believe a single word that pops out of his mouth when he's acting as if the world's about to end and we're the very last female and male on earth?

"I've never met anyone like you," he continues, dramatically.

Girls fall for this? Oh, my sweet Merlin, I think I'm going to die if I have to hold this laughter in any longer. I swear James has been watching – no, studying - plotless muggle chick flicks for hours on end. There's no way he could get this good without help.

"It's just that you're so smart and beautiful-"

I can't take it anymore! If he doesn't cut this out I'm going to break a rib.

"Save it!" I interrupt, fighting back a laugh.

"But Lily-"

"Please, James. Don't waste your time unless your intention was to make me die laughing," I laugh.

James reluctantly closes his mouth with a heavy, dramatic sigh. He lowers his head, shoving his hands into his pocket.

"Fine," he sulks.

Sulky Potter stomps into the woods, leaving me behind. The house is in the other direction. He can't honestly think that after he just tried to kiss me and gave me the speech - which I'm proud to say I am completely immune to, even if we were in the woods after his whole extended family was massacred - that I'm actually going to follow him.

"Potter!" I call.

Potter ignores me and continues to walk deeper into the woods. Now I'm starting to lose sight of him. A quick glance back tells me that I will get lost if I try to find my way back.

I hate Potter.

"Potter! Wait up!" I shout, scrambling to follow him. This better be good.

I fall into step beside him. James keeps glancing at me when he thinks I'm not looking. Maybe it's my eyes, but I could have sworn that was a smirk on his face. What nerve! If he's stupid enough to pull something like that again, the Potter lineage is going to come to an immediate end. Apparently, he understands this. Maybe it's because I'm glaring daggers at him, because he doesn't try anything else, at least not right away.

But we keep walking and walking, and I'm beginning to wonder what Potter's real intentions are. After that little stunt back there, I'm starting to question whether this boy has any morals whatsoever.

I'm almost ready to demand him to take me back, when he abruptly stops. Warily, I watch as he pulls back several branches and then motions me to follow him. I follow, despite my better judgment, and find myself at the edge of an open field.

"Wow!" I breathe.

I walk forward, leaving the woods and James behind. The velvety sky looks so big out here in the open. A full moon's high up in the sky now, starting to retreat in the opposite direction. It's just one of those nights where everything's so bright that you want to stay out all night. And the stars, I tilt my head back and look at them twinkling above me. I swear if I lifted my arm, my finger tips would brush one or two of them.

I look for James and notice that he's already settled himself some distance ahead. He's spread out on his back with his arms folded comfortably behind his head. I can't help but smile as I approach.

"Do you like looking at the stars?" I tease as I sit down beside him.

I'm in a much better mood now that I know there actually was a place he had in mind. And out here, isolated from the rest of the world, both muggle and magical, I feel like we can forget about everything and leave it all behind.

After making sure that Potter's at least an arm's length away from me, I make myself comfortable in the grass beside him. He doesn't say anything, but I think he's smiling as he watches the stars.

The minutes pass in a pleasant silence only broken by the distant call of an owl or the cracking of twigs as a nocturnal animal prowls through the distant woods in search of its evening meal. Everything's so peaceful that even my thoughts have come to a standstill.

Now I am relaxed.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask James, out of the blue.

"You," he teases.

I slap his arm and he rewards me with a half hearted grin. At least he's not sulking anymore.

"Come on James, at least pretend to be serious," I beg.

"I'm James, not Sirius," he jokes.

I roll my eyes. That joke is so old.

"No, really, what are you thinking about?" I ask him, staring up the stars.

A full minute goes by before he replies.

"Nothing," he sighs.

After a full minute pause, that's all he has to say, _nothing_? I'm not buying it.

"You're terrible at lying," I laugh.

"What makes you think I'm lying?" James asks.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it was the heavy sigh, or the minute that it took you to come up with that unbelievable answer."

"Darn, you caught me," James says, unenthusiastically snapping his fingers.

He's quiet. When I realize he's not going to answer me, I tear my eyes away from the beautiful scene above me and face my long time tormentor. His silence has only intrigued me.

"Are you going to tell me what you were thinking about or do I have to pry it out of you?" I ask, poking him.

"You actually care what I think?" James looks at me with an amused smile.

"Yes. Surprisingly, I do," I admit, playing with a strand of grass. There was a reason why I wasn't placed in Ravenclaw with the book worms and instead got stuck in Gryffindor with a clown like Potter. It's the one thing that I grudgingly admit we do have in common and that's curiosity.

"Uncle Harry," he blurts out suddenly.

"Excuse me?" I ask, wondering if my ears have deceived me.

"I was thinking about Uncle Harry," he repeats.

"Your uncle, I slept in your uncle's bed?!" That's just even worse. Oh, god. Merlin, I feel so awful now. And then his poor kid comes wandering into the room looking for him and wonders what I'm doing there.

"It _was_ his bed," James corrects me.

"Was, as in…" I trail off wondering if I only imagined hearing the past tense.

"He's been dead for almost twenty years."

"You're joking!" But he's not. My jaw drops like an anchor.

James shakes his head and I close my mouth. That explains why the room was shut up. No wonder James felt the need to investigate when he heard me speaking to the little girl. After being dead for twenty years that room should've been as silent as a tomb. Hold on a second, that doesn't make any sense. I gasp and sit up.

"He can't be dead, that little girl came into the room looking for him. Why would she be searching for a guy that's been dead longer than she's been in existence?" I ask, crushing a fistful of grass between my hands.

"Maybe you dreamed it?" James suggests hesitantly, as if he thinks I'm making it up.

"You saw her too!" I snap, letting the grass fall from my hands and onto his face.

"I did not-" James breaks off spluttering and sits up. "Blah!" He spits out the grass that I dropped into his mouth, while his eyes were closed, and wipes the remaining greens off of his face. "What'd you do that for? What? I didn't see her – Oh, _that_ girl," he says softly, realizing his mistake.

"Who'd you think I was talking about?" I roll my eyes. He can be so thick at times.

"I don't know," James shrugs.

"Who is she?" I ask curiously, remembering how we got out here in the first place.

"I don't know," he repeats with another shrug.

"Don't play games with me." I shove him, sending his head and shoulders back into the grass.

"I'm not!" James protests. "I've never met the girl in my life." He struggles to sit up, but I push him back down again. How am I supposed to find out anything when I can't get a single honest word out of him?

"Honestly, this was the first time I saw her, Lily!" With a frustrated sigh he seizes my arm and drags me down into the grass beside him. I scowl and tug at my arm, but James refuses to let go.

"Listen to me!" he pleads, yanking on my arm and pulling me closer. I sigh heavily but resign myself to hear whatever bull crap story he has to tell me. "I don't know who she is. I heard someone crying and then I saw her wandering the halls, that's why I went to Uncle Harry's room in the first place."

I have to believe him, even though it destroys every explanation I had for this incident.

"But then why was she looking for him? You didn't even know that was his room and you've been living in that house for sixteen years!" I frown.

"I don't know. At least she talked to you. I couldn't even catch up with her." He releases my arm but I remain where I am lost in thought.

This just keeps getting weirder. I thought that the transition between the primary school and Hogwarts was hard, but this, this is getting a little too complex for me. And I'm usually the logical one!

It doesn't make sense, how would a strange child know that it was Harry's room? Why was she calling for a man that she had never met and probably never even heard of? She was barely six and the man died twenty years ago, it doesn't help that James can't identify her as a relative or even a friend of the family.

How can this be? Was it all a dream? There has to be a solution to this mystery…

"Hey, Lily," James says suddenly, rolling over to face me.

"What?" I ask, irritably.

"Maybe she's a ghost."

If someone said that to me six years ago, I probably would've been committed to a mental institution for even considering this option. Here in the magical world, things work a little differently. Ghosts are in plain sight and there's a whole community of them living at Hogwarts.

He might be right. But…

"She looked so solid and she wasn't transparent! Her hair was black and I remember that her eyes were brown. And she had a black and blue on her face and bloody gashes on her chest and shoulder! Ghosts don't have color, and ghosts don't bleed or bruise," I argue.

"What about the Bloody Baron?" James grins.

"It's not the same, you know what I meant. She couldn't have been a ghost, she was solid," I continue, but James again sends me on the defensive.

"Are you sure? Did you actually touch her?" he asks, shrewdly.

I stop.

"No! But, oh, never mind! What's the use!?" I groan and let myself fall backwards into the soft grass. My head hurts, probably because I've received so much information today that it's about to explode. I hear James chuckle softly and lie down beside me.

"You know you look cute when you're frustrated."

"Please don't start!" Potter with his cheap pick up lines and meaningless compliments is the very last thing I need right now. No wonder why I have a headache, I've been with this annoying jerk for over twelve hours.

"You're right though, she's not a ghost," he adds thoughtfully. "She cast a shadow in the hall. I don't think ghosts can do that."

"They can't," I murmur in agreement.

"Hey, I've got it!" James says, propping himself up on his elbow. "She's a poltergeist."

I turn and stare at him. All I can think of is Peeves, the resident poltergeist at Hogwarts and a nasty little bugger who's worse than all four of the Maruaders combined. I have difficulty believing that a terrified child is a poltergeist. James mouth twitches. He's probably thinking the same thing.

"Scratch that, I don't think they cast shadows either." He surrenders, sinking back down into the grass.

Now, we're right back where we started.

"I think it's too late for thinking," I sigh, closing my eyes and savoring the peace and quiet.

"You mean it's too early, it's past one," James corrects me.

"Whatever it is, I'm tired."

"Okay, I'll shut up," James yawns and rolls over.

It's so comfortable out here that I could easily fall asleep. The hours with Potter are really starting to take a toll on me. Unfortunately, now that James has finally left me alone and I've resigned myself to a nap, I'm not tired at all. In fact, I'm wide awake.

"James," I whisper, sitting up.

James pretends to snore, how mature. I shake him and he opens his eyes with a snort and a fake yawn.

"I thought you were tired," he says instantly awake, confirming my suspicions.

"I was, but now I want to talk to you," I admit, guiltily.

"Oh, so now you want to talk, at one in the morning when I'm asleep." He smirks, rubbing his eyes.

"You weren't sleeping," I retort.

"How do you know?" James asks, defensively.

"I'm psychic," I lie.

"Really?" James's eyes light up.

"No."

"Darn, it would've made everything a lot easier if you could read my thoughts."

Privately, I agree, but then again, why would I want to read Potter's thoughts? I shudder inwardly, hoping that this will never happen.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" James asks slowly, looking over at me.

"Um, well, erm, it's really none of my business but I wanted to know how, how -" I feel awkward asking this. I have no right to ask, but it's the stupid Gryffindor curiosity thing again.

"Just say it Lily."

"How - how'd your uncle die?" I blurt out.

James looks away and is quiet for a long time. I duck my head trying to hide the embarrassed blush that comes so easily to red heads.

"You don't have to answer. I don't know why I asked that dumb question, it was stupid of me," I stammer, regretting that I had asked such an idiotic personal question.

"He was murdered," James finally answers quietly.

A chill runs the length of my spine and it has nothing to do with the breeze. Why didn't someone tell me all this before? Perhaps then, the murder of Gracie's family wouldn't have come as such a shock. I look around the peaceful meadow, suddenly wary, no longer feeling peaceful or safe. The Wizarding World was always somewhat of a fairytale, a fantasy, a dream that I thought I was going to wake up from. But bit by bit, the superficial glitter is being peeled away, revealing a world as flawed and cruel as the muggle world I was born into.

"Nothing's perfect," I mutter under my breath.

"I disagree," James murmurs, staring directly at me. "You Lily Evans are perfect." He reaches out to me, his eyes locked with mine.

"Shut it Potter," I grumble, swatting his hand away. He must study books with pick up lines in his spare time.

"Oh, come on Evans. You're beautiful, you're smart, you're brave, you're kind, you're popular-"

"I said shut up!" I shout.

James stops talking instantly. Apparently, the words came out a little louder than I intended. They seem to echo in the meadow, resounding in my mind.

"But you are," James echoes quietly.

"I'm not," I snap.

"Everyone thinks you are."

Me? Lily Evans? Perfect? What planet do you live on Potter? I know he thinks that he's some kind of sex god and he's desperate to have everyone kiss his feet, but really, he's sinking to an all time low with these "perfect" lies. How can a girl actually swallow this bull crap?

"What did I say Potter?" I ask in a cold voice.

"You're afraid to hear the truth," James says, his voice rising to match my own. "You refuse to see it Lily, but you're something better than all the other girls-"

"Please, stop it," I beg. I don't want to fight with him, not tonight. I'm too tired and both of us are going to be stuck in this house for the next few days. With an emotionless, serious, Sirius Black, and a broken, raging, revengeful Grace Adams, I'm going to need James to help me keep them in check, and alive for that matter.

"Okay," he says quietly with a nod, but I notice that his jaw is clenched.

"Can you take me back?" I ask, but it's more of a command. I'm still mad, and I don't understand why. It was just one of his lousy compliments, why should I get so upset over it?

"Okay," he repeats.

But we don't go back. I lay down, placing a hand to my aching head and closing my eyes. The peaceful sounds of the night blend together like a soothing lullaby. Combined with the soft bed of grass, and the faint smell of James's cologne, I'm overwhelmed by a feeling of drowsiness.

"Sweet dreams," a voice breathes in my ear and I feel a warm hand brush back my hair.

I'm too tired to open my eyes or even lift my arm to hit him.

"I'm falling, I don't know why or when it started but I think I'm falling-"

The whispering voice in my ear fades and I let the tide sweep me into the shores of sleep.

**A/N**: _I have at least another ten chapters ready to go, so updates should be weekly or perhaps even more rapid depending on how much I'm able to write. Thanks for reviewing!_

_Edited_


	8. The Mourning Light

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_JK Rowling is the best, end of story_

**Chapter 7: The Mourning Light**

When I wake up, everything's green. With a blink, the green light disappears and I realize that it was only a part of my dream. I can't remember what I was dreaming about, but I suspect that it was the same as always. You know that dream where you die and there's a funny green light everywhere, and people are screaming. Oh yeah that's right, sane people don't dream about their death on a regular basis. But apparently, I, Lily Evans do.

Yawning, I open my eyes and look around. I'm still in the middle of the meadow, and it's still dark. I must've slept for only a couple of hours. I roll over, intent on going back to sleep so I don't look like death in the morning, but I realize that something's missing.

Where's James? I sit up startled, and suddenly very afraid. It's one thing to be with James Potter in the middle of a peaceful meadow, it's another thing to be by yourself.

"James?" I call. My eyes frantically search for the messy haired teenager, but find nothing but grass. I jump to my feet, and instantly spot the idiot with his back to me, sitting on the other side of a slight hill. I start to breathe and my heart starts beating again. What a cruel trick! I hate him!

His head jerks up as I reach him. One look at his startled expression and his slightly red eyes and instantly any harsh words, or cruel feelings that I might've harbored are swallowed and pushed to the very back of my mind. James quickly looks away, and I pause wondering if maybe I should turn around and leave him alone.

He hides his face from view, and hesitantly I start to slip away.

"No, wait!"

I stop and look down at him. I'm struck by how sad and alone he seems, sitting there on the ground with his hazel eyes looking imploringly into my own. He struggles with his pride, trying to form the silent plea that's emblazoned in his eyes.

_Stay_.

My hand brushes over his shoulder as I wordlessly sit down beside him. He doesn't say anything but he doesn't have too. I know just by the look in his eyes that he's grateful for the mere presence of another human being.

And so am I, because I don't want to be alone either.

It's colder now, the wind must have switched while I was sleeping. I pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. I can feel James looking at me out of the corner, but when I turn my head he pretends to be absorbed by the horizon. I stare at him, waiting for him to ask or say whatever it is that he's burning to talk about. Once again his eyes meet mine, and a pinkish tinge slides across his cheeks when he realizes that I've caught him staring.

"What is it?" I ask, wondering if the pink cheeks were just a trick of the fading moonlight.

"What did they do to you, before I showed up at your house?" His question is so abrupt, so out of the blue that it throws me off course. Of course I know exactly what he's talking about, and I know that we promised we'd swap stories but it seemed ages ago, and out here, it seemed like the real world was so far away.

I collect myself and recall the creaking floor boards, and the heart pounding realization that followed. The memory comes easily, and I can't resist telling James how I brought down Serial Killer #2 and gave Serial Killer #1 hopefully something he'd remember.

"That's my girl," James murmurs, his chest swelling with pride. He grins and slaps me on the back, and I laugh it off.

Then I explain how Serial Killer #1 apparated, and came up from behind and tried to strangle me. Slowly the life drained out of my body, and I lost consciousness as his hands closed around my neck.

"That's when I woke up and found out I was alive, and you had just dumped a vase of water on me." I laugh, and turn to James. But there's no laughter in his eyes and his smile is forced. His eyes burn with a strange intensity and his face hardens.

"What's wrong?" I ask, frowning.

He blinks, and looks at me as if I have nine different heads.

"What's wrong? A lot of things are wrong Lily. They shouldn't have hurt you and they shouldn't have showed up at your house in the first place," he says, angrily.

"You're right James, but Gracie's family shouldn't have died either," I reply, softly.

"Yes, I mean no," he stutters, recovering too quickly.

My eyes widen, what is he talking about?

"Look Lily, my Aunt and Uncle, they shouldn't have died, but they worked for the Ministry," he sighs, trying to explain something that I can't understand.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I ask.

"It has everything to do with it," James answers, softly.

He begins to say something, but stops with a shake of his head. I know I won't understand. Not yet. There's something big going on that started over the summer, something that's too complex for me to learn about in a single night. James and Grace will tell me in due time, but right now, I don't think I'm ready.

"But that's not the point," James continues. "The point is, those filthy, slimy bastard shouldn't have laid a hand on you." He clenches his fists, and I realize that it's anger that's flooded his handsome features. It's consumed him, shining in his eyes like the flames of the burner. I'm afraid, because I've never seen him like this before. Sure he gets mad at Snape or a particularly annoying Slytherin every once in a while, but never like this.

I watch him intently, holding my breath. He's smoldering like hot coals ready to take flame with the slightest breath of air and unleash his wrath upon the world. It surprises me when he starts speaking quietly. Every word quivers with restrained anger

"When I went back to your house, that – that - thing was standing there with his hand wrapped around your delicate neck. He was practically wetting himself, he was so excited. I wanted to rip him off of you, but he had a wand to your head. And then there was that worthless Ministry Official, Kenny, uselessly staring at both of you, and not doing a single thing about it. I stunned your Killer, and immediately went to you." James pauses here, his eyes blazing

"I thought I was too late. You were blue, and there was this bruise where his hand had been. When I felt for a pulse, I wasn't sure if you - I didn't know if you had…" He inhales sharply. "And then that Ministry klutz, he goes and wakes up the other wanna-be Dementor. And you know what he does? He went straight for your Killer, grabbed him and left with a pop. After all they'd done to you, and probably done to Gracie's family, THEY ESCAPE ALIVE!" he raises his voice to an angry roar, allowing it to catch the breeze and run off into the night. His words remain in my mind though, lingering with the flashes of yesterday's events. A raw wound still bleeds within.

I move toward him, no longer fearing his wrath, now that I know the cause of it. He stiffens, but I'm not afraid of him. Boldly, I lay my hand on his back. The muscles are knotted and tense but they quickly unravel beneath my gentle, careful fingertips. My arm travels upward, barely making it around his broad quidditch improved shoulders, so I scoot closer. I can see his hazel eyes, the fire slowly dying. But even though my arm rests around his shoulders, he still clings to some of the anger, still fights a part of my presence.

"It's not fair," he growls.

"It's not," I agree, softly.

"Chris, he was only twelve and my aunt and uncle were two of the greatest-" He stops himself before he risks breaking down. I can hear him taking quick, sharp breaths beside me.

I squeeze his shoulder, and gently rest my head on his chest. There are about a hundred things that I could tell him…

But I don't say anything at all.

"Lily?"

I open my eyes and look up into James Potter's face. Funny, I don't remember closing my eyes. The sleep fiend must've crept up on me again. That usually happens when you go without sleep for a long period of time.

Hang on, I'm looking up at James, and this definitely isn't the grass. I'm not complaining though, because I'm very comfortable. Wait, oh my god! My head's resting on James Potter's knee!

The blood rushes to my face and I sit up. I miss hitting James's face by less than a millimeter. How embarrassing, how disgusting! I was practically lying in Potter's lap!

"Er sorry, I must've dozed off," I stammer. Maybe in the dark, my blushing scarlet face will camouflage with my ruby hair and James won't notice how mortifying that was for me. I don't think I'm related to chameleons, though horses and cows ( Have you met my sister? ) now that's a whole different story. I hold my breath hoping that if I just stay still, like this, I'll just blur into a red blob, and sink into a hole in the ground.

"Yeah, you did," James says slowly, and I notice a sparkle in his eyes that might be mischief.

Oh Merlin, if he teases me or says anything about that… position… we were in, I will kick myself for falling asleep so carelessly and then I will kick James in a place he won't like if he pursues the topic.

"How long was I in your- I mean how long was I asleep?" I stutter.

"Not long." A shadow of a grin crosses his face.

My face burns. Why can't I be a chameleon? Why can't I apparate?

"I didn't want to wake you," he adds, ducking his head. He's probably trying to hide that infamous devilish smirk.

I'm sure you didn't, Potter. It's not every day, even for an alleged "ladies man" like Potter, that a girl happens to fall asleep in your lap.

Pervert.

It's not like he had a choice though, I did fall asleep, and I probably fell into his lap. I chew on my lip and decide to forgive and forget about it, just this once. Whoa, I seem to be letting Potter slide a lot lately, this seems to be about the hundredth chance I've given him today. If I keep this up, next thing you know I'm going to be dating him. Now, wouldn't that be a laugh! Ha, that's not going to happen, ever.

"Do you want to go back?" he asks.

"No," I reply, automatically.

We look at each other and I see that he feels the same. As much as I despise Potter's company, I have to admit he knows where the best sanctuaries are. Right now, I'd take another couple of days of Potter's company out here, rather than going back there and facing Gracie and the upcoming funeral. Okay, maybe not a couple of days. I think that's stretching it, but I could definitely stay here for a few more hours of sleep.

But alas, reality calls.

The stars are fading and the sky's gone grey. Dawn creeps toward us as the world around us awakes and transforms in the early morning light.

I look at James and James looks at me.

"Come on," I sigh. "We don't want your mother knowing that we slept together," I catch myself too late and James cracks up laughing.

I slap my forehead, wondering why I'm such a fool. We get to our feet and James turns to me with a seductive smile.

"Don't worry about it, she trusts us, and she said that as long as we weren't in the same room…" He raises his eyebrows suggestively.

I hit him. He roars with laughter and I can see that it made no impression on him whatsoever. It is kind of funny, come to think of it…

I can't help it, I start to giggle.

Damn Potter, he's making me laugh! This is not supposed to be funny! People might assume that we actually did sleep together, which in the literal sense we did but it's definitely not what everyone else is thinking!

Ah, what's the use, as that old saying goes "if you can't fight them, join them".

And so I laugh and run to catch up with James.

Five minutes later the Potter household comes into view. (Either that just went by really fast, or Potter took the long way to his little sanctuary when he tried to have his way with me a few hours ago by the oak tree. I expect it was a little manipulation on Potter's part.)

"That was fast," I say, almost regretfully.

We slow our footsteps, unwilling to leave the safety of the woods. But the house grows larger and I can now see James a little more clearly in the grey light. I want to get back in my bed before anyone sees us and suspects that James and I, well, you know…It's ridiculous of course, but James's mother seems to have this insane idea that we're seeing each other and even, sleeping together.

"I better go in first," I sigh, surrendering myself to the dawn.

"We'll go together. I don't want you getting lost again," James says, and I don't have the heart to protest after what happened with the floo powder.

We walk to a side door of the house. Unfortunately, the door's locked. James doesn't want to risk the back door which is right below the room his parents sleep in, or the front door which supposedly squeaks when you open it from the outside. What's the point of having three doors if you can't use any of them?

"We'll have to break in," he whispers, walking to the back of the house.

"Excuse me?" I ask.

Did he just say that we were going to break into his house? There's a reason why I was placed in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw, but really, I'm not a Marauder and I have my limits. I say we just camp outside and then return one at a time, no one would suspect a thing, but Potter has to make everything complicated and lives to break every rule that exists.

"Relax, Lily! We're just going through the bathroom window." He gestures to a first floor window not too far off the ground. The window's fine, it's what's underneath it that makes me balk.

"You want me to climb in there?" I point to the mutated thorn bush underneath the window. Perhaps it was a rose bush at one time, but the thorns have to be at least six inches in length and seem to think that they're vines.

"Oh, sorry about that, Mom went through a gardening phase. It didn't quite work out and Dad was never able to get rid of this one," James chuckles as if this is perfectly normal.

"It's perfectly safe, I came in this way loads of times." I don't doubt it. "And I never fell in." He pauses, rethinking this. "Though there was that one time when Sirius slipped, but we got him out eventually and the pain only lasted a week. And then there was that time when Peter jumped in. He wasn't so lucky. I think he still has scars…" James trails off, nervously shooting me a look.

"On second thought, why don't we try a different route?" he suggests, cheerfully heading for the back of the house.

I stop in my tracks when I see the shaky vine stretching up to a second floor roof that's set back and the third floor window that I jumped from.

"I have an idea." James grins and our eyes lock.

Oh, no, not this again.

First, I had to go down the vine, and now, I have to try to climb up it?

"We can try a different way if you want." James smirks, and I shove past him in my haste to get to the vine.

I'll show him…

Okay, so it took me five minutes and James took less than five seconds (show off!), but that's beside the point.

James climbs in through the open window after me and shuts it, and suddenly we're back in Harry's bedroom. It's just the same as I left it, though both of us act as if it's a tomb and the mysterious little girl might materialize at any moment before us. I shiver, glad that James is with me for once. Quickly, I gather up the things off the bedside table and shove them back into my pocket.

"It's a shame we don't have time to look around," James whispers, sending a final wistful look at the room before he closes the door behind us.

"Maybe some other time," I suggest hopefully, but I hear the lock click and I know that it won't be opening again anytime soon.

"Come on, I'll show you where _your_ room is," James says, taking me unnecessarily by the arm.

"I know where it is. You don't have to show me. I just got mixed up." I try to pull my arm free, but James is unwilling to let go.

"I don't blame you Evans for not listening-" James continues with a smug smile.

"I was listening!" I protest, tugging at my arm again which only brings James closer to me.

"You were obviously distracted by thoughts of an attractive, intelligent, handsome, quidditch playing, sixth year Gryffindor who happens to be in this hallway at this very moment and who's Hogsmeade offer still stands." He smirks.

I roll my eyes. Okay Narcissus. Now I remember why Potter was at the top of my Hit List. It's a shame I was actually beginning to wonder if perhaps there was another more pleasant side to Potter.

"Really Sirius, is here?" I quip, pretending to search for the attractive, intelligent, obviously self-centered jerk, who's Potter of course. But I like to pull his leg.

"I was talking about me," he informs me, as if I didn't catch that.

"I know James, I was hoping that no one would be so self centered to say those kind of things about themselves."

"Shhh, do you want someone to hear us?" James admonishes me, making a shushing noise and pressing a finger to his mouth. The truth hurts and he's avoiding the subject.

"Let go of me!" I hiss.

"Now, now, Evans, play nice."

Jerk. I yank my arm free, shoving James (unintentionally of course) into the wall.

"Hey there's no need to be rough – YOWCH!" He breaks off in a yowl, which suddenly changes into a low menacing growl.

"James!" I gasp.

"That wasn't me," James replies softly, his eyes widening.

"Then who – what -?"

As if in answer, a second growl fills the hallways and a black shape rises in the shadows before us. I yelp, and grab James, who pulls me back against the wall. Two eyes glitter in the darkness and I glimpse a set of sharp pearly white teeth as a jaw snaps.

A monster! After narrowly escaping two evil looking Serial Killers, James and I are about to become the breakfast of the Potter's pet monster. James whips out his wand and illuminates the hallway revealing our…erm…Well, it certainly sounded like a monster.

The big black dog stops growling and stares at us as if we're two of the biggest idiots he's ever met.

We probably are, or at least I am. Potter's arm looks suspiciously purple, and I realize it's because my hand is still squeezing it like a stress ball. Embarrassed, I remove my arms and fingers that have somehow wrapped themselves around various parts of his body, and step a good three feet away from him. At least Potter's shaken up too… Or at least he was.

Now, he looks as if he's going to crack up laughing.

"That was not funny," I say, glaring at him. "Don't you dare laugh!"

James shakes his head silently, just barely maintaining self control. Fine go ahead, laugh yourself silly. See what I care. I look at the dog. He looks almost as tired and worn out as I am. I imagine we gave him a fright, because by the looks of it he knows James.

"You never told me you had a dog." I stretch my hand out, hoping that he's harmless. The dog sniffs at my hand, dully acknowledging me with one wag of its tail.

"I don't," James replies, squatting down beside me in front of the dog. "He's a stray." He grins and ruffles the dog's fur. The dog growls and snaps at his hand, but this only causes James to laugh.

"Sorry, didn't mean to mess up your hair," he chuckles.

The dog snarls at him, and then turns his back on us. I watch him trot off into the shadows, wondering what a stray was doing in James's house.

"He comes and goes as he pleases. Sometimes I think he's a part of the family. Mom and Dad love him, but boy can he eat. He can eat as much as Sirius." James laughs again, and I wonder what's so funny. Sirius Black can eat anything and everything. I don't know how anyone can support that kid, or where it all goes because he doesn't have an inch of fat on him, and even I have to admire him for that amazing feat.

"What's his name?" I ask casually as we start back to my real room.

"Sir – oh um, he doesn't have a name," James mumbles.

"What?" This bothers me. How can he practically be a part of the family and not have a name?

"Why doesn't he have a name?"

James runs a hand through his hair like he always does when he's nervous or uncomfortable.

"He's not a permanent resident of the household, so we never named him," he replies with a shrug. "What I don't understand is what he was doing up here…" Suddenly, his puzzled expression gives way to a smirk. "You sly dog," he remarks, glancing over his shoulder at something and shaking his head.

"What?" I ask curiously.

"Nothing, I just remembered something," James mutters.

My ears suddenly perk up.

"Say is this Gracie's room?" I ask, glancing at the room to the left where the door has been left open a crack.

"Actually, yes, how'd you know?" James gives me a weird look.

"Only Gracie Adams snores like that." I smile. After sleeping in the same room as her for the past five years I know these things and could easily recognize the snores of any of the other girls who share the dormitory with us except for Tiffany Crowley who claims she was born in the city that never sleeps.

"Thank Merlin, she's sleeping," I whisper, my heart going out to the girl. James nods in agreement and slips inside the bedroom to check on his cousin. I wait for him outside, staring hard at the ground. A trail of paw prints, and a few almost invisible black hairs make me wonder if perhaps the dog had been sitting out here when we arrived.

"Let's go, the sun's almost up," James says softly.

I linger by the doorway, peeking in at my best friend who is indeed still asleep and hopefully blissfully unaware of the horrible nightmare that awaits her when she wakes.

"Sweet dreams Gracie," I close the door silently behind me.

Two doors down, James stops again.

"This is your room," he announces with a faint smile.

"You're sure it's not your deceased Aunt's?" I tease. Instantly, I regret the words and slap a hand over my mouth.

"I'm sorry James," I apologize, wondering why I'm such an idiot.

"Goodnight Lily," James says softly, suddenly looking extremely tired.

"Goodnight James," I whisper after him, watching as he walks away. Quietly, I close the door behind me, and sit down on the bed. Outside the first rays of sunlight are peeking over the horizon and the sky's a myriad of colors. Right now, though, I could care less about the new day dawning. It still feels like I'm lost in a dark moonless night.

I pull down the shade, shutting the light out. Then I roll over and close my eyes.

**A/N: **_Thanks for all the reviews, you make my day every time I read one of those! Expect another chapter between now and next Tuesday!_

_Edited_


	9. The Funeral

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_I rule the world. Yea, I wish._

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It made my day! This chapters really long so either you'll hate me or love me.

**Chapter Eight: The Funeral**

It's raining.

I press my cheek against the glass and watch the tear shaped water droplets gather on the window pane. Lifting my hand, I trace their watery trails with my fingertip. The sound of the rain tapping on the window is like a miserable lullaby, never soothing or comforting, but your eyelids grow heavy and your movements lethargic, as you fall beneath the hypnotic spell of the steady drumming.

It seems to whisper in your ear, _go back to bed… Go to sllllleeeeepppppp_…

_**Knock. Knock**__._

The trance is instantly shattered, as the bedroom door creaks open. A head of unruly black hair pokes into the room, and two hazel eyes find mine.

"Hi," James says, with a small smile.

"Hi," I mirror his efforts, awarding him with a slight curve of my lips.

"Can I come in?" he asks hesitantly, stepping inside.

"You already did," I point out even as he shuts the door behind him.

"Oh, sorry," he apologizes. "You don't mind?"

I shake my head, motioning for him to sit down on the bed in front of me. As he sits down, he reveals the plate that he was carrying behind his back.

"Are you hungry? I brought breakfast." He lifts the plate up for me to see.

Not really, but I find myself sliding off the windowsill and joining him on the bed. I take one of the scones and James takes the other one.

"Have you talked to Gracie yet?" I ask James softly between bites.

James shakes his head.

"Her room's locked, I checked. She's barricaded herself in there, I'm not even sure if she's taking meals." I can hear the concern in his voice, so unfamiliar and foreign coming from the normally selfish James Potter.

"Your Mom had me bring up a plate for her, but I doubt she ate any of it." I finish my scone, and brush the crumbs from my T-shirt. Gracie's been in her room ever since we got to the Potter's house, which was approximately four days ago.

"She'll come out of her room today," James says, finishing his own scone and taking the empty plate from me.

"How can you be so sure?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Today's the funeral."

Damn. I forgot about the funeral. Right when we're getting ready to go back to Hogwarts and forget all about this, we have to relive it all over again. Why can't they do it the day after the person dies? Or even better, immediately following their death?

"What should I wear?" I wonder aloud.

"Clothes preferably. As much as I'd like to see you without them, it is going to be a funeral – Ow!" I cut him off with a punch in the arm.

"You're awful!" I tell him but there's something about his usual perverted comment that makes me want to grin, or worse, laugh.

"I wouldn't be talking." James winces as he gently rubs the spot where I punched him.

I roll my eyes.

"Wear something black. Ask Mom. I don't know. Why are you asking me?" James raises an eyebrow.

"I've never been to a funeral before, wizard or muggle." I fidget, looking down at my hands.

"You're not the only one," James whispers.

I turn my head and look up at him. His eyes meet mine for only a moment before darting away. Why do I get the feeling that this won't be the last funeral we'll be attending together?

James clears his throat and starts to get up from the bed.

"Thanks for the scone." Unable to smile, I grab his free hand instead.

"Thanks for the company." He squeezes my hand.

"What time's the funeral?" I ask, letting go somewhat reluctantly.

"Two. I guess I'll see you then." He starts backing out of the room.

I nod watching as he reaches the door. He stops and looks back at me, holding the empty plate in one hand and the doorknob in the other. I wait, but he just smiles as if he forgot what he was going to say and leaves, closing the door behind him. I listen to his footsteps moving away. Then I turn around and face the window.

Looking through the rain smeared glass, I see nothing but various shades of grey.

Gloomy, depressing, miserable - the dreary weather coincides with my mood. I can't help but think that this is the type of day that a funeral always takes place on in the muggle movies.

I just never thought that I would ever be an actress in one.

*

James was right. Gracie did come out of her room.

I found her in the living room, sitting rigidly on the edge of an armchair. By the time I arrived, the room was filled with solemn, crying people, dressed in flowing black cloaks, robes, muggle dresses, and suits. I was actually late, but because of the heavy rain, the funeral had been delayed a half hour.

It wasn't exactly my fault. I don't bring black dresses to Hogwarts. I could've easily owled home for one, but my parents were relocated and it was difficult to find a vacant owl with so many letters going in and out due to the funeral preparations. There was a lovely dress in my closet, but Mrs. Potter took one look at it and started sobbing. She muttered something about "Hope" and fled the room. I hastily put the dress back, and Mrs. Potter returned dry eyed with one of her old formal black robes, so that's what I'm wearing. It's a little big, but at least it's better than my Hogwarts robes.

I walk over to the chair and stop in front of her. Her blue eyes are staring straight at me, but I know she doesn't see me. She's been holed up in her room since the night we arrived. She looks like she hasn't been sleeping, but it's difficult to tell how she's holding up because she cleaned up for the funeral.

"Gracie?" I call her back to me with a light touch on the arm.

Slowly, her eyes come back into focus, and she blinks and moves her head, obviously seeing me for the first time.

"Lily," she whispers, the muscles move in her face as if she wants to smile.

I nod and bend down to hug her. Gracie hugs me back, but stiffly as if she's been doing this all day. She withdraws quickly and puts a horribly forced smile on her face. To her I'm just another unnamed relative coming to tell her how sorry they are. I blink back tears, hurt by her reaction. Already her eyes are back looking at something over my left shoulder.

Gracie, how could they do this to you?

"Come on, there's someone here that wants to see you." James materializes beside me. I feel him take my wrist and pull me gently away from Gracie and through the crowd of swishing black cloaks and gowns. I turn around, but Gracie hasn't moved from the spot and I doubt she even knows I left. With a sigh I allow James to lead me over to a corner.

"Has she been like this all day?" I ask him, quietly.

"At least she acknowledged you. I don't even think she knew who her grandparents and Sirius were."

I wince, and James hands me a cup of butter beer.

"Thanks," I sip on it, realizing how much I missed the wizarding beverage.

"I meant to warn you…" James says softly, pouring a drink for himself.

"It's okay." I pat his arm.

"Come on, they're waiting for us," James urges me gently, turning slightly to look at something behind us.

"Who?" I ask, puzzled.

"Over here."

James reaches for my wrist and gets my outstretched hand instead. We exit the room, where there's another smaller and less formal parlor where the younger crowd has gathered. A group of kids race past us, caught up in a modified game of what we muggles like to call "tag". James keeps going, heading for the back of the room where a few teenagers are talking and drinking butterbeer, including a very solemn Sirius. I recognize him immediately because he's set apart from the others and leaning against the wall. But his eyes are locked on a boy who's speaking in a hushed voice to those that have gathered around him.

"My Dad told me that there's nothing left, the whole thing was demolished. He said they couldn't even locate her Mom's body-"

A pair of eyes notice us, and the familiar round face of my close friend and fellow sixth year Gryffindor entertains a fleeting look of what might have been surprise before quickly breaking into a smile. Alice throws out her arm, reaching for us and clumsily knocking into the person beside her. Her pumpkin juice spills all over the speaker's shoes and whatever else he was going to say was never revealed.

"Sorry Eddie," Alice apologizes and then turns to me. "Lily I haven't seen you in years!" I chuckle and we hug. Once again she forgets the drink she's holding, and the pumpkin juice sloshes out of the cup, narrowly missing me.

"I'll take that Alice." A blonde haired girl winks and takes the cup away from Alice, gently replacing it on the table.

"Hello Ophelia," I greet her with a smile and nod at the Ravenclaw prefect, another good friend of mine.

"Eddie," I smile amusedly as the Hufflepuff prefect sticks out a hand for me to shake.

"Peter," I nod and smile again at another fellow Gryffindor, a short mousy boy who loves Potter and Black and lives to worship them. He could give any Potter or Black fan girl a run for their money. Speak of the devil, Potter has already joined Black, and is whispering about something. Black nods his head, listening intently to what James is saying and then Peter asks them something. I look at the three of them and realize that someone's missing from their infamous quad, Remus Lupin.

"Oh, Lily! I heard what happened. Poor Gracie. My parents told me yesterday who died and I couldn't believe it. Her parents were nice people. Daddy met them once. They didn't work in the same department but he remembered them as being very kind and friendly. And little Christopher! Oh, it's awful! I can't believe it. It's so sad. Poor Gracie, I would hate to be her. She must be out of her bloody mind with grief. Poor Gracie." Alice stops talking, her round face shining with genuine grief. She looks up at me, and then shakes her head, her bottom lip trembling. I wrap an arm around her shoulder.

"Gracie wouldn't talk to you either?" I ask, softly.

"No! I tried, but oh! She wouldn't even look at me. I am sorry, I am sad. I feel so terrible," she moans, looking as if she's about to burst into tears. I pat her on the back.

"We all do, Alice. But it didn't happen to us."

I wish I could comfort Gracie. I wish that I could take some of her pain. I would do anything to reverse this act of inhumanity, and go to any means necessary to make sure that my best friend does not come to the same end as her family did, even if it meant committing an act of revengeful murder.

"Frank wanted to come," Alice is saying, referring to her best friend another Gryffindor in our year. "But well you know how his mother is…" She doesn't have to say anymore. I used to wonder how Frank Longbottom got into Gryffindor, but then I met his mother and realized that anyone who put up with that controlling woman was a very brave soul.

"She's already spilt three cups of pumpkin juice without her other half," Ophelia Kenny, the Ravenclaw prefect teases, referring to the fact that Frank and Alice were like a team and without each other the results were… well… disastrous. Alice had an odd habit of losing things and Frank was always tripping or getting himself into some sort of mess. But when they were together, you would never know it. They complimented each other beautifully, making a killer team, and it was obvious to everyone, except Frank and Alice that they would make the perfect couple.

"What can I say? I'm worse than Andromeda," Alice sighs.

I snort. No one could possibly be more of a klutz than Andromeda Black, though between the two of them Alice and Frank could seriously give her a run for her money. The Head Girl was always knocking something over at the prefect meetings, and managed to trip over the same chair each week.

"I'm going to miss her," I say wistfully, remembering that Andromeda graduated last year.

"Are you the new Head Girl?" I ask Ophelia, curiously.

The Ravenclaw snorts, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"No one in their right mind would make me Head Girl," she scoffs.

"Ah, that's what Andromeda thought," Alice points out.

Ophelia chuckles but shakes her head again.

"You know I couldn't be Head Girl," she says, seriously. Ophelia's brilliant and by far the brightest witch in the entire school. But she has a tendency to… well… let's just say she's not always fully _there_. Quite frankly, she's got a few screws loose. It doesn't help her reputation that she's rumored to be dating Lovegood, the wacko that started the radical _Quibbler_. "Besides, I think it would kill Mary Pewter if she didn't get to be Head Girl," Ophelia adds.

"Eddie's Head Boy?" Alice asks.

Ophelia nods with a smirk. The funeral must have cleared her head, because she's a lot more sane than usual.

"Don't bring it up though, his chest might explode if he puffs that badge out anymore," Ophelia quips, stealing a glance at the Hufflepuff who's currently chatting with another one of my friends who I didn't notice before.

"Tiffany's here?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, she must've just arrived," Alice muses.

Tiffany spots us and flies over to us. She hugs Alice first and then turns to me. She hugs me, and I'm taken aback. I wasn't expecting to see her here. James told me that some Ministry kids might show up such as Eddie and Ophelia. And I personally sent one to Alice and James sent one to Peter and Remus… but the owl came back with Tiffany's letter.

"The letter came back…" I start, but Tiffany cuts me off.

"It's been all over the Daily Prophet, Lily. The Adams murder did not go down quietly. This one was probably the most publicized out of all of them," she says quickly, shaking her pretty head of curls sadly.

I nod, and then stop. Something she said strikes me.

"Wait… Did you say all of them as in… plural?"

Tiffany nods, giving me a curious look. I swallow hard, a lump suddenly forming in my throat. Alice bites down on her lip, watching me nervously, as if she knows that I shouldn't be asking questions.

"You mean to say, there's been, more… More than one of these murders?" I ask, slowly.

"Oh, yes. There's been a whole slew of them. Why do you think the Hogwarts start date was pushed back?" Tiffany replies.

The bomb dropped.

This is it, my chance to find out what the heck is going on here. James said he wasn't ready to tell me, but he never said that I couldn't get the information from anybody else. I can't just ask her outright, Alice is still eyeing me, and James is less than ten feet away. I'll have to get Tiffany to tell me, without physically asking her what happened.

"Of course, it makes sense now after that terrible thing that happened." I frown, and try to make it look like I know exactly what I'm talking about.

Alice is openly staring at me even though Eddie is talking to her. She knows I'm lying and I haven't a clue as to what I'm saying. Tiffany on the other hand doesn't appear to pick up on this. She seems a bit distracted, looking over her shoulder every few seconds as if she's searching for someone.

"It's been horrible, the _Daily Prophet_ tried to keep it quiet, but it's gotten so big now that they can't ignore it. Our world talks of nothing else, day in and day out, how sad, how cold blooded, how awful and unexplainable it was." Tiffany says this as if it's something she's repeated over and over again. It's as if she really has talked about so much that the subject has been worn thin. I wait patiently for her to continue, but instead she asks me a random question that has absolutely nothing to do with what we were just discussing, or what we came so extremely close to discussing.

"Where's Remus?"

"I don't know," I reply, silently begging her to return to the topic. Don't drop it now, not when I'm inches away from discovering the truth.

But she turns to Eddie, Alice and Ophelia with the same question and gets blank stares and a couple of shrugs. Her mind has left the topic entirely, focusing on only one thing, the whereabouts of the missing Marauder.

"Excuse me." She leaves us and goes over to talk to the three Marauders that are present.

No! Not now, not when you were so close to telling me! What is it with this secret? Why is it that someone's murdered, someone starts crying, ghosts arrive, someone goes missing, or my house is invaded by serial killers whenever I get close to finding out the truth? Why? I mind as well just accept it. I'm an outsider.

"Let's go, the funeral's about to start," Alice disturbs my thoughts, touching my arm.

James has already left the room, and Peter and Sirius are shaking their heads at Tiffany as they head for the door with Ophelia and Eddie close behind. I put down my drink, and we follow them outside. It's still raining, but it's more of a drizzle. I pull my cloak closer around me and Alice asks me for a water repellant spell. I cast the spell on her, knowing that she would probably mess it up. I seriously consider using it myself, but it doesn't seem right.

I let the rain slap against my cloak, soaking me through to the bone. I'm cold and wet, and it makes me feel a little better, slightly justified that I'm suffering in some way, surrounded by all these people that knew and loved these three people. There's an elderly man talking, a priest or an official of some sort, but his words wash over me like the rain from the sky. I can't tell the difference between the salty tears and the acidic rain sliding down my face and blurring the three black coffins into one.

It was over in what felt like a matter of minutes. The people left one by one, even Alice, though rather reluctantly, but I lingered, rooted to the spot by some mysterious force.

Gracie's still here, I watched her walk away after placing her flowers on the coffins but I know that she didn't go back to the house. We're best friends, and now I'm finally beginning to understand this different side of her, just as I have started to understand this same side to James.

Suddenly, she appears, as if out of thin air. She's soaking wet, the water repellant charm Mrs. Potter had spelled her with has worn off, and she too chose the feel of the rain and the cold rather than the dry empty warmth.

Cautiously, I approach her, taking slow and small, but constant steps. The distance between us shrinks and disappears altogether, and I'm standing side by side with my best friend of five years. Together we stare down at the fresh mound of dirt, heaped with brightly colored flowers that seem to fade in the gloomy twilight and look disfigured and wilted in the dreary drizzling rain. Shoulder to shoulder I feel a little bit stronger, and I think Gracie feels the same. We share our strength, supporting each other, catching each other when we fall. That's what friends are for. She inhales sharply, never removing her eyes from the grave with its ugly flowers and its marble stone that doesn't yet bare the names of the three people that rest beneath it. I can feel her trembling beside me, teetering on the edge.

"Damn it, Lily! This is so bloody unfair!" she growls. "Why'd they have to spare me? Why couldn't they have let Chris live instead?"

I don't have an answer for that, except for the fact that they're a bunch of –

"Monstrous murderers."

Well, those weren't quite the words James chose. His were a bit more…colorful? But you get the gist. I look over at James, not at all surprised to see him there. I've come to find out that this arrogant prick cares about Gracie a great deal.

I take Gracie's hand, and James wraps a comforting arm around her shoulders. With both of us on either side of her, she won't fall if she chooses to break down. Gracie closes her eyes. When she opens them she looks to the sky and then to the great mound at her feet. Time passes, but no tears fall from her bloodshot blue eyes. She's finished crying. There's nothing left in her. It's an empty shell.

"I'm ready to go home." Her hand slips from mine, and she shrugs out of James's arm.

Gracie starts to walk away, straight and tall, the pillar of strength that I remember. But her eyes must have seen something that struck a chord or a memory, because she stumbles.

I catch her before she hits the ground, steadying her. Immediately, she's back on her feet gently pushing me away. She rests, leaning against a tombstone of an ancestor that died hundreds of years ago and then slowly starts walking again, only to lose her balance a second time. Again I'm there at her side, but it's James who's arms encircle her fragile skinny form.

"I'm tired," Gracie murmurs weakly as she presses her back against a second tombstone, that also reads Moon.

"I'll carry you." James picks her up without hesitation, cradling her in his arms like a small child. Gracie hangs like a limp rag doll in his arms. She's already asleep. I strongly suspect that she didn't sleep at all the last two days.

I start to follow, but I stop to pick up the black glove that must've fallen out of Gracie's pocket when she fell the second time. My hand grazes over the tombstone, and I notice the name engraved in the polished marble.

_Harold Julius Moon_

_A Loving Son, Brother and Friend_

_1928 – 1951_

He was barely twenty-three years old… Too many people die young in this world. I don't want to hear about anymore short lives right now. I seize the glove, and hurry to catch up with James and Gracie.

*

Almost everyone had left by the time we entered the house. It was quiet, broken only by the soft murmurings in the kitchen down the hall of the Potters and a few lingering relatives and close friends. Our footsteps echo through the large house, as we climb the stairs and then enter the long hallway.

"In here," James whispers, nodding towards Gracie's bedroom door.

I open the door for him, and he lowers Gracie onto the bed. He's careful not to wake her as he removes her dripping cloak, and pulls back the sheets. I help him, using a simple drying charm on her clothes and cloak. James then uses a clever spell to transform her clothes into a comfortable pair of pajamas. He carefully moves her head, placing it on the soft pillow. I pull the sheets and blankets over her, tucking her into bed.

James shuts the shade and we tip toe from the room, closing the door quietly behind us.

"Do you want to go some place quiet?" he asks in a whisper.

A smile tugs at my mouth, because it's more silent than a tomb where we're standing. The smile never surfaces because I'm too tired and too depressed to work the muscles in my face in that direction. He looks worse than death, and he doesn't notice the mistake in his words. He walks away, taking my silence as an affirmative answer and I follow.

James takes me into a small room with a fireplace and a couch. It doesn't take James long to light a fire (a normal fire mind you none of this emerald artificial flame floo powder stuff) and within minutes a crackling blaze warms the room.

He gets to his feet and looks at me, his mouth suddenly twitching as if he wants to smile.

"What?" I ask, slightly annoyed by that look and wondering why my face is warm all of a sudden.

"It's nothing," James mutters. averting his eyes to the fire.

Like I believe that, not after I just caught him staring at me with _that_ look on his face. I walk over to him, my soggy shoes squeaking in protest.

"What?" I demand, daring him to face me.

Hesitantly, he lifts his head. There's a guilty look on his face as if he's just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You're all wet," he says, staring at me.

"So are you," I retort. What is it with him? Suddenly, I realize that my dress must be sticking to me. I don't dare glance down. I already know that James has noticed what the rain's done for my feminine figure. A hot blush spreads across my cheeks and I fold my arms over my chest. Merlin, is that all guys ever think about? I swear they have a one track mind.

It shouldn't surprise me. I mean this is Potter we're dealing with the same adolescent who once bet Sirius that he could snog every girl in Hogwarts. I stupidly thought that maybe he'd grow up a bit over the summer but nothing's changed. As soon as we return to Hogwarts everything will be just like it was last year. With an angry sweep of my wand I dry my clothes.

"Not anymore," I tug at the borrowed dress, which though big, still seems to cling in a few places I could do without. My neckline is lot lower than I remember it being. I glance in James' direction and I notice that he's still looking at me.

"Why," I grit my teeth and wrap my cloak around me and the dumb dress, "are you still staring at me?"

"I can't help it. I've never met anyone more beautiful," he answers in a low voice.

Maybe it's the glasses, or maybe it's the trick of the firelight but looking into Potter's hazel eyes it seems so… I can't explain it. But it almost seems like this is the truth, that he's really saying this to you and only you, and that this is the prelude to the best kiss of your life. He reaches for my face, his finger's grazing one of my damp curls before I snap out of the Potter trance and step out of his reach.

"Goodnight, Potter," I say, coldly.

I turn around and start for the door.

"Wait!" James catches hold of my arm, forcing me to stop. "I have something to say to you first."

"I don't want to hear about it." I wrench my arm free, and grab the doorknob.

"Actually I think you might want to listen to this."

Something in his voice makes me stop and turn. He looks both surprised and a little smug to see me still standing there. If it wasn't for my stupid curiosity, I'd be a perfectly happy, insanely smart, safe, boring, Potter-free Ravenclaw. But oh no, the hat had to put Gryffindor, with Potter and his posse. Naturally my life went downhill from there

"You've got three seconds," I warn, giving him an ultimatum.

"Give me thirty," Potter insists.

"Two."

"A minute?"

"One." I turn the doorknob.

"No, wait!" Potter slams the door shut, throwing himself in front of the door as if his life depends upon it. I glare at him.

"What?" I demand.

James makes a show of thinking, but I know he's not thinking, there's nothing in that skull except the pituitary gland (the hormone switch).

"You know you look cute when you're mad," he says, smirking.

"Potter get out of my way!" Oh! I could kill him right now! If it wasn't for his relatives just dying, and his dear mother I'd take out my wand and murder him.

"Our friend's back!" James blurts out suddenly.

Huh? Our friend's back? What kind of news is that? Hey, he couldn't be talking about…

"The ghostly girl? The one that was looking for Harry? She's back?" I ask, my eyes widening.

James nods and slowly steps away from the door. He drifts over to the couch and throws himself down upon it. I follow him, sitting down at the opposite end.

"How'd you know? Did you see her again?" I ask, suddenly interested.

James shakes his head.

"No, but Sirius did," he tells me.

"Sirius?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Yea, when I mentioned it to him he knew exactly what I was talking about. Apparently he's seen the frightened creature on a couple of her midnight strolls. But she was too skittish, when he tried to approach her."

No surprise there. I'd be scared too if Sirius approached me. He's been so unnaturally quiet and solemn and yes, I'll say it, serious, go ahead laugh. But it's scary to see him in this unusually grave like form.

"You'll never guess where she's been hiding," James says, bringing me back to the present.

"Where?" I lean forward eagerly looking into his hazel eyes.

"Gracie's room."

"No way!" I gasp.

"Sirius saw her in there. Gracie's been taking care of her, letting her sleep in her bed and giving her the food you keep bringing up," James confides.

Sirius found all of this out? Why didn't Gracie come and tell us that she had taken the child under her wing? If it was company Gracie was looking for, I would've been more than happy to sit and talk with her. Hurt and a little dejected I look up at James wondering how he feels about all of this.

"Don't feel bad Lily, right now I think this is what Gracie needs," James says sagely, stretching his arm across the back of the sofa.

"I just don't understand why she didn't come to one of us." I draw my legs up onto the couch and curl up in the crook of the arm rest. Is she mad at me? Is it because my parents and my wretched sister are still alive and well?

"I don't understand it anymore than you do Lily, but maybe it's easier for her, to talk to a little kid, someone who doesn't understand, someone she doesn't even know." James frowns and then looks up at me. "I'm not making any sense am I?"

"Well, no," I shake my head and sigh. "I mean, she's a perfect stranger! Unless…" Suddenly. I jump to my feet, an idea forming in my mind. "Gracie knows her!"

"What?"

"Gracie must know her!" I start pacing, the wheels in my mind turning. She must be a relative from her Dad's side. Merlin only knows how she got to the Potter's house, but she must be an Adam's family cousin or something.

James smiles weakly when he hears my theory, but shakes his head.

"It doesn't fit Lily, how would she know about my uncle?"

"You're related to them!"

"Harry was my mom's brother, and Gracie's mother was my mom's sister," he explains patiently.

"So…"

"And how would she know about my uncle in the first place when he died over 20 years ago?"

"Unless it was er, a different Harry…?" I trail off hopefully but James just chuckles.

"And it was just a coincidence that she showed up in Harry's old room, right?"

"Um…" My theory just got flushed down the toilet. I flop back down on the couch beside James. I hate it when I'm confused. Damn my meddlesome curiosity and unquenchable thirst for knowledge. I can feel a headache coming on.

"It's useless," I sigh, rubbing my temple.

"Gracie's been talking to her, she probably knows something. Maybe we can talk to her or even the girl tomorrow…"

"Hmm, maybe." My head's starting to pound. I close my eyes, taking deep breaths. My breathing becomes more regular, and as my headache lifts a feeling of drowsiness replaces it. I know I'm going to fall asleep, if I don't get up and leave right now while my limbs are still functioning.

"Lily?" James asks. softly.

"Yes?" I open my eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you," James whispers.

"Thank me?" Surprised I turn to him. I've never heard Potter thank people before, it's like I'm dealing with a stranger.

"Yes, what you did for Gracie and me was really -"

I silence him, pressing my hand to his lips.

"My relatives weren't the ones who were murdered." My hand slowly falls from his soft lips and moves to his shoulder. I wrap my arms around him, embracing him. He leans into me, his hands lingering at my waist. I'm not very good with words at times like these when my Aunt and Uncle are still very much alive as well as my parents and unfortunately my sister.

I start to pull away, but James isn't ready to let go. His arms tighten around me, and not for the first time I wonder if Potter is taking advantage of my sympathy. One hand leaves my waist and I feel his fingers suddenly entangled in my hair. I freeze, a pleasant chill running down my spine as his warm, soft cheek rubs against my own. He smoothes my hair, and I close my eyes rubbing his back.

Whoa, check out those muscles. Okay Lily, you did not just think about that. Ugh. I shake my head, rapidly clearing my mind of these grotesque thoughts and knocking heads with James.

"Ow!" We break apart, both clutching our heads.

I blush, rubbing my head, wondering how the heck someone could have a head as hard as a rock, with cheeks so soft. Really it's no surprise though, after feeling those Quidditch muscles of his. Stop it Lily, don't go down that road. James looks at me, a questioning look on his face, as if to say "What was that for?".

I giggle at this and James breaks into a smile with a soft chuckle.

"Maybe you knocked some sense into me," he jokes.

"You could certainly use some," I snicker.

"Ah Evans, you laugh now, but just you wait. One day you're going to see me start getting top marks, and then you'll be kicking yourself when I become the next Head Boy and you're stuck with me for a whole year," James prophesizes, smirking.

Did he just say that out loud? Potter the infamous rule breaking Marauder? Head Boy? It's so absurd that I don't even have to laugh. It's beyond funny.

"Good one Potter, but I don't think I'll have to worry about that one," I chortle.

"Just you wait Evans," James repeats in what has to be a mock serious tone. Because he can't honestly be taking this seriously. I mean, it's Potter, the boy who pranks every living being in Hogwarts, disrupts every class, has been caught with a girl more times than I can count on my hands and toes, and the boy whose ultimate goal in life is to have more detentions than anyone else that's ever attended Hogwarts. No, he can't be serious.

"Oh, and what do you plan on doing Potter? Are you going to charm the professors or hypnotize Dumbledore?" I snort, trying to act serious, but failing miserably.

"Maybe," James says with a mischievous grin and a suggestive wink. I start having convulsions, trying fruitlessly to suppress the wave of laughter.

"Why do you find this so funny?" he asks in that mock serious voice of his.

"You…H-H-Head B-Boy!" I let out a howl and double over laughing.

James sighs, and leans back against the sofa. He's still trying to act as if he's really given this matter some thought. Did I mention that James is an excellent actor? Right now he's throwing me this sullen frown as if he's actually hurt by me laughing at him. Imagine that, a Marauder, hurt that I don't believe that he'll become Head Boy.

I pull myself together (after a few minutes of indulging myself with the image of imaginary Head Boy Potter actually telling students to NOT break the rules) and sit up wiping the tears from my eyes.

"You don't think I can pull it off? The hypnotizing thing?" James quips, cracking a grin.

"Only a miracle could get you that badge!" I giggle, getting to my feet.

"So, what's wrong with miracles?" James pursues me as I retrieve my cloak and shoes from the floor.

"Nothing's wrong with miracles," I say, quickly.

"You don't believe in them?" he asks, softly.

I stop everything that I'm doing and turn to look at him.

"What makes you think that?" I frown.

"You admitted it, not me," James points out.

I stare at him, realizing what I just said. The words sink in slowly as I slip my feet into my shoes and James helps me with my cloak. I barely even notice.

"Well I for one, do believe in miracles," he declares, stepping in front of me before I can get to the door.

"A lot of people do." I smile sadly up at him.

"They do happen," he repeats.

Not in this world, I grumble to myself. But my smile stays in place and I nod in agreement.

"You don't believe me?" James reads right through my phony smile. "I'll prove it to you right now Evans. You're going to witness a miracle right before your very beautiful green eyes."

"Oh, really?" I raise an eyebrow and lean back against the door looking up at him.

I look behind him, searching the room, half expecting some amazing thing to happen. It's just one of those things that Potter's eyes can do to you. Sometimes, you start believing in things so fantastical, so out of this world, so highly unlikely… It's like those false words that roll off his tongue and make you feel like you're the center of the world, the only one he really sees, even if it is for just the moment before you remember who he really is and the girl of the week that's currently waiting for him half clothed in her bed. That's how I know miracles don't and won't happen and this occasion is no different.

"How?" I snort, folding my arms across my chest.

"I'm going to ask you out to Hogsmeade this weekend and you're going to say yes," James predicts smugly, leaning against the door beside me. His hands creep up to my shoulders, and once again a familiar shiver races down the length of my spine and I close my eyes. His fingers dance delicately across my neck, expertly reaching for my face.

"No!" I twist out of his hold, my common sense waking up again. "No, I will not go out with you Potter." I say, pushing him out of my way.

"I'll make a deal with you Evans," James challenges me in his most seductive voice.

"No deals!" I plead, but he grabs the door slamming it shut.

"No, you'll like this one. Believe me, you'll enjoy winning this one, which of course you won't, but you would if you did," he teases, glancing my way and I can't help but be intrigued.

"Of course I'll win. What makes you think I can't win?" I ask hotly. I may not gamble, but I am a Gryffindor, and if this is a challenge I am NOT backing down.

"If… No… _When_ I become Head Boy, you have to go out on a date with me," he dares me with a smug smile.

I snort. Nope, not going to happen. This is going to be a piece of cake.

"Okay Potter, now tell me what I'm going to get since you know it'll never happen." I lean toward him with a mocking grin on my face.

"A life without your favorite Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, Hogwart's number one stud and most eligible bachelor-" And the list goes on and on because I'm sure since Potter literally thinks that he is god and the universe revolves around him.

"Basically an amazing, perfect, wonderful life where I can go every day without you asking me out every three seconds. No, hold that thought, if I win Potter, you will never ask me out again. Agreed?" I poke him in the chest when he doesn't answer immediately.

"What's wrong, Potter? Are you afraid that you'll lose?" I ask, now it's my turn to smirk as fear flits across his face.

"Not in the slightest," he responds, regaining his composure, but I saw how his eyes flickered.

"Okay, then shake on it." I hold out my hand and James seizes it in his large hand, practically crushing my small fingers.

"You're going to regret this Evans," he informs me in his most threatening tone.

"No, Potter, this is probably the best decision of my life," I contradict him, smirking up at him.

"That's what you think, now. But later Evans, you're going to be sorry," he predicts ominously, squeezing my hand.

"No," I pull my hand free with some difficulty and smile smugly. "I don't think I will be."

"Goodnight James, sweet dreams." I grin and mockingly plant a kiss on his cheek. The look on Potter's face when I pull away is priceless.

"Just you wait Evans! I'll show you a bloody miracle!" he hisses.

I slam the door shut, and run off to bed snickering.

A/N: _Thanks for all the reviews! In the next chapter we'll be seeing Hogwarts and reuniting with an old friend. It is one of the longest chapters of probably the whole story. I'll try to update this week._

_Edited_


	10. Saving Grace

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_I think my grammar explains everything, obviously I am not JK Rowling and therefore own nothing. _

**WARNING**_: This is a long chapter, so beware of eyes.Also someone addressed the fact that I opened my story with Lily dreaming of her death. It is cliche. The beginning of this chapter contains another seeming cliche as well so be warned. But I promise you that I have an original, perhaps insane but still unique, way to tie this all together._

**Chapter Nine: Saving Grace**

"_Harry?"_

_The name falls from my lips, fear lacing every syllable. It sounds nothing like my own, it seems smaller, childish, higher and foreign. I'm clinging to a blanket, Gryffindor red with tiny glittering snitches on it and I can't stop shaking._

"_Harry?" _

_My heart speeds up, tears building up behind my eyes. I slide off the armchair, the same armchair that Gracie had been sitting in the day of the funeral. Climbing the stairs, I notice a pair of fluffy orange Chudley Cannon slippers that are entirely too big for my suddenly small feet. _

"_Harry?" _

_I start running when I reach the third floor. The slippers are too big and after tripping twice I leave them behind. Tears blind my vision and a mane of dark curling hair keeps falling in my eyes. But I don't stop, not until I reach the door to Harry's room._

"_Harry!" _

_I grab the handle, and open the door._

_But I'm not in Harry's room, I'm in the Adam's household now. I recognize the entrance immediately. There's Chris's sneakers and the quaffle that he was told to put away a thousand times, and Mark's muggle umbrella which he bought as a joke and the welcome mat that used to talk until everyone thought they were going to go mad, and someone disenchanted it._

"_Hello?" My voice is now more mature and lower, but still sounding nothing like my own._

_Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet? The hair's on the back of my neck prickle as I slide out of a pair of high heels and start to slowly make my way into the house. I pull my wand from my pocket, suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this._

"_Mark? Chris? Gracie?" _

_Someone calls my name in reply, but its distant and faint, barely audible. I grasp the wand tightly, my knuckles turning white. Breaking into a cold sweat, I tiptoe toward the kitchen door. _

_Merlin, tell me this isn't happening. Tell me the kitchen's empty, tell me I won't find-"_

"_STUPEFY!" _

_I duck, and cast up a powerful shield that I never knew I could do. Something grabs me from behind, lifting me to my feet. I watch my wand fall to the floor as if in slow motion. Someone leans close to me, their horrid breath on my cheek._

"_Hello Hope Adams." _

_Then they throw me against the glass cabinet. I hear it shatter and then I feel the pain._

"OW!" My eyes snap open as pain courses through my body. The light floods my eyes and I instantly close them. The only thing I remember was glass everywhere, the cabinet having shattered and the pain, oh the pain was unbearable.

"Evans, what are you doing on the ground?"

"Huh?"

I open my eyes and look up at Potter. Only then do I notice that I'm lying on my back, on the hardwood floor of the Potter's guest bedroom that I've been sleeping in for the past week. The pain fades away as I realize that it was only a nightmare. Shakily I sit up half expecting to see shards of glass and fresh wounds.

Dazed and slightly confused, I allow James to help me back up onto the bed.

"Are you okay?" He asks softly sitting down on the end of the bed beside me.

"I think so." I glance down at my body, running a hand over my arms and chest feeling for the invisible wounds that were so lifelike in my nightmare.

"What were you doing on the floor then?" He asks frowning.

"Um, I don't really know." I scratch my head wondering how I got from my bed to the floor. "I had a nightmare and I must've fell out of bed or something." I guess.

I look at him, he's fully dressed and he has his wand and a …

"Is that a baseball bat?" I ask my eyes widening at the muggle object in his left hand.

"Oh is that what the muggles call it?" James asks, looking at the baseball bat with renewed curiosity.

"Yes, but what are you doing with one?"

"When I heard you scream and the bang, I grabbed the bat and came running. They're really useful you know. Mum's ex-boyfriend gave her one when they were dating, years and years ago, told her that all muggles have them and every wizard should have one on hand too. I don't know what's so great about them though." James said holding it from the wrong end.

"That's because you're holding it wrong." I correct his hands. "And to be honest with you James, a baseball bat, though it can be used as a weapon, is primarily used to hit base balls in a game called baseball."

"What's baseball?"

I'm not in the mood to play Muggle Studies teacher right now.

"It's a muggle sport but it's not really popular over here. It's more of an American thing."

"Oh." James notices that I'm not going to elaborate on this and gets up. "Didn't mean to intrude but Mom reckoned that she heard someone walking around the house last night."

"Did you explain to her who it was?" I ask exasperatingly.

"I tried to, but she was a little distracted. She said that she'd been in Gracie's room loads of time to check on her and not once did she come across a six year old girl with cuts all over her." James says going for the door.

"Oh and by the way Lily," He grins with a suggestive nod. "Nice pajamas."

I blush looking down at my green pajamas covered with prancing stags. But I sit up straighter with a confident smile and toss my hair that must look as if a bird made its nest in it.

"You're fan of stags too?" I tease.

"A huge fan." James says with a laugh and a wink as if there's something more to this simple statement. He leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

You know it's funny, if something like this had happened last year or even last week I probably would've reacted in two ways. A. I would've killed him or B. I would've died of embarrassment then came back to life to haunt him for the rest of his life and eventually killed him. But things change. Maybe we're just getting older, or maybe we're just temporarily insane due to the traumatizing tragedy that struck this family.

But maybe, just maybe this is the beginning of something more.

* * *

"Well, well, well, Ms. Evans finally decided to grace us with her lovely presence." James looks up from the breakfast table with a grin as I enter the kitchen. 

"I had to pack!" I explain, sitting down across from him.

"Sure you did." James says sarcastically.

I stick my tongue out at him, and James's grin widens. I look around and realize that today we're not alone in the kitchen. In fact, everyone but Sirius and the mysterious seven year old guest have joined us at the table. James' mom fills my plate with a smile and I thank her. At the end of the table, a man who bears an unmistakable resemblance to James sits, peering at me over the top of the Daily Prophet through messy brown hair and a pair of glasses. His father's been in and out of the house all week. James said that he works at the Ministry of Magic and they've needed everyone on board following the Adam's murder.

Finally my gaze travels to the other end of the table where Grace sits, her elbow on the table, her face resting in her hand, and her fork idly moving back and forth across a full plate, but never going to her mouth.

Mrs. Potter takes her seat again, eyeing Grace with concern. She tries to hide it by striking up a conversation with James.

"Are you packed James?" She asks her son.

"Of course." James says quickly, too quickly. Obviously he hasn't even started packing.

"Where's Sirius? Is he packed yet?"

James shrugs.

"He's probably still sleeping."

"Well then, go wake him up," Mrs. Potter orders. James rolls his eyes but gets up from his seat and takes his plate to the sink.

"We're leaving this house in twenty minutes and the train's not going to wait for you." She calls after him.

"Yes it will." James mutters under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear as he passes by.

Privately I agree. The train left for Hogwarts the morning following the funeral, which was three days ago. Sirius, Gracie, James and I are taking a second train back today, so chances are we're going to be the only occupants. I don't say this to his mom of course, who's watching Gracie again with worry filled eyes.

The kitchen door opens, and in walks a fully dressed and extremely tired, Sirius Black.

"Oh I just sent James up." Mrs. Potter gets up and goes toward the stove.

"He's packing." Sirius answers, confirming my suspicions about James.

"Funny, I thought he told me that he was done … never mind I'll get a plate for you Sirius, are you finished-"

"Yeah, I'm finished packing." Sirius cuts Mrs. Potter off, taking James' former seat, beside Gracie.

At the sound of his voice, and the scraping of the chair beside her, Gracie suddenly looks up. Sirius turns his head and their eyes meet. I hold my breath, the memory of Gracie trying to mercilessly murder Sirius on my front lawn still fresh in my mind. But nothing happens, no words pass between them, and Gracie lets her eyes drop back to her full plate a moment later. Sirius stares at her, but Gracie keeps her head down. Mrs. Potter returns with a plate, and puts it in front of Sirius, who reluctantly tears his eyes away from the girl and starts eating.

James' mom then sits back down, fussing over her silent niece.

"Gracie why don't you just try to eat a little-"

"No, I'm full." Gracie glances at Sirius and then drops her fork.

"But you haven't touched your plate-"

"I said I'm full." Gracie repeats patiently and politely, standing up. She takes her dish to the sink, and leaves the room without another word.

I watch her exit the room, and listen as her footsteps fade. Turning back I notice that Sirius is still staring at the door that she disappeared through, an unexplainable expression on his face.

"Are you alright Sirius?" Mrs. Potter asks.

"I'm fine," Sirius says, he blinks and then returns to stuffing his face as if nothing happened.

* * *

Exactly eighteen minutes later, the four of us stand on Platform nine and three quarters with James' dad, waiting for the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. Mr. Potter glances at his watch, a frown on his face. 

"It should be here, Dumbledore said to board at eleven."

No sooner had he said this when the train suddenly materializes out of thin air. I'm not lying, one second it wasn't and the next, it was suddenly, well, there. James, Sirius and Gracie are completely unfazed, having lived in the wizarding world all their life. (Then again Gracie has been unfazed by just about everything.)

"James, Sirius, why don't you be gentlemen and help the ladies with their trunks?" Mr. Potter suggests with a wink in our direction.

My trunk of course, is safely stored in my pocket. James offers a hand, confusion clouding his face.

"Did you forget something?" He asks looking behind me.

"Nope," I smile, and pat my pocket smugly.

James' face falls when he realizes that I just ruined the opportunity his father handed to him.

"Son, I'd like to talk to you for a minute." Mr. Potter takes his son by the arm and leads him to a spot further down the platform, out of hearing distance.

"I can carry it myself, thank you." Gracie hisses, when Sirius attempts to take her trunk. She drags it toward the train, obviously forgetting that she is a witch and her wand's probably in her pocket. Sirius and I look on warily as she struggles to lift it up the steps.

"Let me help you with that." Sirius tries again to help her, and this time Gracie drops it unexpectedly. She gives him a look that clearly says fine-have-it-your-way and climbs on board. He staggers under the weight, and I rush to help him with my wand in hand.

"Merlin, what does this girl pack, rocks? Bodies?" He mutters as I relieve him of the trunk with a flick of my wand.

"Sirius!" I hit him upside the head. Glancing nervously toward the train I pray that Gracie didn't hear this ill comment.

Sirius holds his head, looking injured.

"I didn't mean that." He apologizes quietly, looking up helplessly.

Both of us turn toward the train and then finding no sign of Gracie, search for James. Surprisingly James is looking right at us. I raise my hand and give a tiny wave (to remind him to hurry up). James doesn't wave back, but continues to stare until his father suddenly turns him around, talking to him urgently. James frowns, looks at me over his father's shoulder and then as his father grabs his attention again, he shakes his head angrily and starts walking away.

"I better go find her." Sirius stands in the doorway, looking down at me.

"You go on, I'll wait for James." I find myself saying as I watch the silent father-son argument continue.

Sirius hesitates, glancing toward James and his Dad and then shrugs.

"Suit yourself." He slips inside the train, leaving me alone.

I wait by the train, secretly keeping an eye on James and his Dad. Again he looks at me, and this time I'm sure he's looking at me because I'm the only one here now that Sirius left. But why would he be looking at me during an argument? A few minutes later, James and his Dad part amicably, and Mr. Potter disappears in the blink of an eye. James comes walking back to me, breathing hard and still looking a bit mad.

I open my mouth, but James cuts me off with a small smile and a shake of his head.

"You wouldn't understand." He says as if reading my thoughts.

He climbs up the steps, and I place a hand on his shoulder (only to steady myself of course, those stairs are murder). James holds the door open for me, well not really, since it was already open, but it's the thought that counts, right?

"Thanks," I say sarcastically.

"No problem." James grins.

Halfway down the train, a compartment door slams and someone shoots out. Sirius Black comes running to us, looking more excited than he has in weeks.

"Prongs! You'll never guess who I just found."

"Who?" James asks puzzled.

As if in reply, the compartment door opens a second time and someone pokes their head out.

"Remus!" I gasp recognizing the tall sandy haired Gryffindor.

"Moony!" James rushes forward to meet Remus, grabbing his outstretched hand and slapping him on the back heartily.

Sirius and James start talking excitedly at the same time, and Remus looks from one to the other, obviously used to this and easily following both conversations as they boil down to one. He looks happy, but tired. Oddly enough Remus always looks worn out. Perhaps it's because he actually pays attention in his classes and keeps his grades up (unlike the other two knuckleheads who stay up all night wreaking havoc and then sleep through their classes). It's really not that strange though, when you think about it. Poor Remus, as the only sane Marauder, has to keep Hogwarts biggest troublemakers in line, acting as a full time babysitter, making sure that they don't get expelled or blow themselves up. It's a miracle that he's not dead yet.

"Oh, hello Lily," Remus smiles noticing that I've been standing here for the last ten minutes.

"Hello, how was your summer?" I ask politely. What I really want to ask him though is what are you doing here?

"It was alright. How was yours?"

"Okay." I glance involuntarily at James who immediately clears his throat.

"Er, so why don't we go find Gracie?" James suggests.

"Gracie's here too?" Remus asks nervously.

"Of course, you didn't expect her to walk to Hogwarts, did you?" James scoffs, a touch of bitterness in his voice. Remus draws himself up, immediately on the defense.

"Look, Prongs, you know it was out of my control, I would've come-"

"I know Remus but she doesn't." James interrupts softly.

"Oh." A strange look passes over Remus' face and if possible, he seems to have gone a paler shade.

"Know what?" I ask curiously.

The boys pretend as if they don't hear me, but I know for a fact that James glanced in my direction. Whatever, it's not like they've kept secrets from me before, and besides I thought I promised to be less meddlesome this year. I can throw that resolution out, I haven't even gotten to Hogwarts and already I'm poking my nose where it shouldn't be. Then again, I think it was my best friend they were discussing and I have a right to that kind of information, right?

I start down the hall with the Three Musketeers whispering about something a good ways behind me. I open up the next compartment, empty again. I keep my eyes open half expecting a compartment door to fly open and the rest of the school to suddenly come racing out to greet me. But the train's only other occupant appears to be Remus. Why? I haven't the faintest clue. Maybe he decided to wait and join his friends or he couldn't trust them unchaperoned, fearing they might blow up the train. I suppose I should thank him for joining us.

I reach the end of the train and open up the last compartment. Gracie's back is to me, and her tall form is curled over her open trunk. I close the door, and she immediately slams the lid shut and whips around to face me.

"LILY!" She exclaims, clutching her chest.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I should've knocked." I apologize. Gracie looks as if she's on the verge of a heart attack.

"Knocking would be nice." Gracie sinks down on the trunk, catching her breath. A little color returns to her face, but the scared look remains. I cautiously step into the compartment. Slowly I take a seat on the seat near her trunk.

"Sirius and James are coming…" I warn her so she won't die of heart failure when those two bumbling idiots arrive. An awkward silence fills the compartment, and I try desperately to make small talk. "Guess who's here?"

"Who?" Gracie's only half listening, she's not even looking at me. She keeps stealing glances at the door and at the trunk she's sitting on.

"Remus!" I wait for her reply. Surely she must know why he's here. Sirius and James certainly weren't questioning it.

"That's nice." Gracie says with a thin smile, but she's not listening. Something's distracting her, though I'm not quite sure what. Her fingers curl around the trunk, her eyes dart, and she's fidgeting.

"Gracie, why don't you sit down, we can levitate your trunk-"

"NO!" Gracie screams as I reach for the trunk. I freeze when I see the look in her blue eyes. It's the same determination, that same vengeful look that I saw in her eyes the day that she threatened to kill Sirius Black. I pull my hand away, back up and sit down. Gracie's face flushes, and the light in her eyes dies.

"I mean no, I think it'll be fine here, I'm comfortable just sitting here, on my trunk, with my back to the window, facing the door, yeah, this is the best seat on the train." Gracie stops rambling, and sighs. The fidgeting stops as her eyes meet mine. "Lily, look, there's something I need to t-"

The compartment door slides open, just my luck as usual. Gracie falls silent, as the three boys enter, all three laughing about some stupid joke. Noticing me and then Gracie, the laughter abruptly stops. I steal a frantic look at Gracie, but she's already closed herself off again.

Just when she was opening up, Potter and his two equally troublesome sidekicks come in and ruin everything.

Thanks a lot Potter. I hope you're happy. I glare at him as he sits down beside me.

His brow wrinkles and he mouths "What did I do?"

I shake my head, frustrated, and scoot as far away from him as the seat will allow. Unfortunately Gracie doesn't take this too well, my elbow bumps into her shoulder and she jumps about a foot in the air with a startled yelp.

"I'm sorry!" I gasp, hoping she won't die on me or fly off the handle like she did with Sirius last week.

"It's okay, you only startled me." Gracie says, taking in the three other sets of eyes upon her. She hides the scared look, letting a blank, emotionless mask replace it as she sits back down again. She grabs the book that I was going to read out of my lap and opens it up. I know she's not reading because she just opened to the end, and Gracie Adams, though very bright, never, ever, reads for pleasure.

Five, ten, fifteen minutes pass in silence. This is going to be the longest train ride ever. First I get stuck next to Potter and now I can't even read since Gracie decided that my book was a perfect, not to mention completely obvious, shield. Not that I could get any reading done to begin with, it's so quiet in here… that my ears are ringing. Finally Gracie looks up again with a slight frown of annoyance.

"Stop staring at me." She snaps at Remus and Sirius when she catches them both openly staring at her. James and I are being a little more discreet about it. Remus looks away blushing and ashamed of himself, but Sirius rolls his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself." He mutters just loud enough for the blue eyed girl to hear. Slowly the book lowers, and Gracie's face appears again.

"What did you just say?" She asks.

"You heard me." Sirius turns bravely toward Gracie, a slight smirk on his face.

"Then why haven't you stopped looking at me." There's an edge to Gracie's voice, a warning that the frown her mouth has twisted into is no longer a mere mask, but the real thing.

"I'm not looking at you, I'm looking out the window, which you happen to be blocking." Sirius replies smartly.

"Deal with it." Gracie growls, returning to the book.

This would have been the end of it, if Sirius had just turned and stared at something else. But no, he sat there smirking, his eyes locked on Gracie. I give Gracie credit, she held her tongue and her temper back, pretending that she couldn't see him behind my book.

"You're still staring." Gracie clears her throat, a warning, leveling look in her frosty blue eyes.

"Deal with it." He mimics.

I exchange a panicky look with James, wondering if Sirius has completely lost his marbles. Remus's jaw is hanging open, and he wasn't even there to witness the life and death wrestling match on my front yard.

"Stop it." Gracie is trying to keep her cool, I can see her struggling, fighting it down. The look is smoldering in her blue eyes, and again I try to shoot Sirius some sort of warning. Stop now, if you wish to see tomorrow.

"If I'm bothering you then why don't you move? There's plenty of space." Sirius moves over, practically shoving Remus off the seat. He pats the cleared seat beside him, and I watch Gracie stiffen.

"I don't want to move." She says, her whole body tensing.

"Well I want to look out the window." Sirius says folding his arms over his chest, a sign that he's not going to back down or let her win. I start to get up with every intention of saving Sirius's life by physically dragging him out of the compartment and locking him in another one down the hall.

Unfortunately James places a restraining hand on my shoulder, a rather strong one, and I can't move. I look up at him, wondering if he's lost his mind as well. He was there that day! But James has a strange look on his face as his eyes watch his cousin and his best friend carefully.

"Stop …being …so …childish." Gracie stammers, her words barely formed as a result of the suppressed emotion.

"Me? I'm the one who's being childish?" Sirius laughs loudly, tossing his head back. "That's rich, you accuse me of being childish when you're the one who's hiding a little –" His eyes move to the trunk, and Gracie lunges before he can finish the sentence.

She tackles him, and the two roll off the seat and onto the floor with a loud thud. James, Remus and I scramble to our feet, our wands out. Gracie quickly rolls him off of her and sits up on his stomach. She pulls out her wand but the spell goes awry as Sirius grabs the wand. The two pull on it from opposite ends, engaging in a fierce tug of war. Gracie wins. She hits him over the head with it, and I have to admit I was half expecting it to snap in two.

Remus and I recover from the initial shock, and raise our wands.

"No!" James shouts, flinging out an arm to stop us.

"Are you insane?" I ask.

"Trust me." James says looking at me. Naturally I melt beneath those gorgeous hazel eyes, even I'm not entirely immune to that look, um, where did that come from? Moving on, Sirius and Gracie have entered round two of the boxing match.

Sirius blocks the offending arm, skillfully and the wand flies out of her hand, skittering across the floor. Remus picks it up, and James doesn't protest when he tucks it into his pocket. Now wandless, Gracie decides that her fist will serve as a sufficient weapon. She punches him in the face, but Sirius grabs her fist when she comes in for the second one. Her other fist flies out, but Sirius squirms, and her fist connects with the floor of the compartment. Gracie swears, and Sirius takes advantage of this opportunity. He rolls, and uses his extra weight and strength to pin the struggling, flailing, angry girl to the floor. Gracie wriggles and curses, threatening Sirius with worse things than death.

"Ow, ow, Let go of me you imbecile! You're squishing me with your gigantic arse!"

James touches Sirius's shoulder and Sirius immediately lets go, unleashing the lioness. She sits up immediately, her hand moving to her hair. Then without warning she dives toward Sirius. This time Sirius is a little more prepared than he was the last time. He catches her, and she flails in his arms, hitting and punching his chest repeatedly.

"I hate you!" She yells.

But her strength wanes, and she's overcome with tears. She slumps against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Sirius, yeah, Mr. Lady's man himself, looks alarmed and uncomfortable by this sudden change of events (though we all knew that this was inevitably where it would end up). It's funny actually, because Sirius looks a bit…well…scared. James takes her gently from Sirius, and guides her out of the compartment, leaving Remus and I with an injured Sirius.

Remus is the first to speak. He lets his breath out in a rush with a low whistle.

"Wow, for a girl, Gracie can fight really well."

"Excuse me?" I ask, extremely offended by this attack on my gender.

"Oh well, you know, she's so skinny that you'd never expect her to have so much energy." Remus quickly covers himself. Good boy, now I won't have to give you my Elizabeth Stanton speech or hurt you.

"Yeah, she gave me a bloody black eye." Sirius moans.

"No, you gave yourself that black eye. Taunting her like that, what were you expecting? A snogging fest?" I snort.

"Smooth padfoot, that's real smooth. Excellent way to come onto a girl…" Remus snickers.

"Instead of a hickey, she left you with a shiner." I giggle.

"True love." Remus sighs like a love sap.

"How romantic!" I swoon, and the two of us dissolve into a fit of laughter.

"You're just jealous of me." Sirius says smugly, running a hand through his now ruffled black hair. His fingertips brush over the spot, and he frowns and winces. "I mean how many good looking studs like me do you meet that had a wildly passionate, beautiful girl slug them in the face. Not many, am I right?"

"I guess so…"

"She was all over me!" Sirius continues.

"Okay Sirius, you go right ahead and think that…" I lean toward Remus and whisper. "I think she gave him a concussion."

Remus grins, silently agreeing with me.

"How hard did she hit you?" He teases.

"Hard enough to leave a mark, that's going to last for at least a week." Sirius bites down on his lip, touching the spot gently.

"What were you thinking?" I ask shaking my head.

"I wasn't. I just knew that…" He lapses into silence, his eyes hardening and growing distant. "You can't forget to feel. Sometimes pain is the only way to break the ice, to remember that we are human and we have emotions." His forehead creases, his eyes far away as if in his mind he's returned to another time.

"She'll be okay." He says slowly, his eyes slowly coming back into focus. "She's going to be okay." He repeats, nodding.

And suddenly it does make sense, completely. Remus reaches into his pocket and removes a handkerchief. I take it from him, and with a well placed charm, turn it into a make-shift ice pack. I give it to Sirius.

"Ow! That's cold!" He complains, immediately back to his old self.

"Usually ice is…" Remus says dryly and I roll my eyes.

Sirius sits nursing his injury until our "ice pack" abruptly transforms back into Remus's handkerchief less than thirty seconds later.

"Thanks, so much." Sirius says sarcastically tossing the useless handkerchief back to Remus.

"Anytime." Remus replies tucking it back into his pocket.

"I'm on the verge of death and all you give me is a defective handkerchief?" Sirius laments.

"Sorry to disappoint you Sirius, but you're not going to die anytime soon." I break the news to him.

"Darn." He mutters.

"I know believe me, you're not the only one who's disappointed."

The three of us turn around and find Gracie and James reentering the compartment, already in their robes. Gracie's hair is already back into place (I envy her) and there's hardly a scratch on her. Only the slight puffiness around her eyes indicates that anything happened.

"Come on Adams, I know you really want me!" Sirius grins.

"Yeah, I'm secretly in love with you." Gracie rolls her eyes, and takes a seat beside me as if nothing has happened.

"So you couldn't resist? You just had to come back and have another go at me." Sirius leaps to his feet and puts up his fists.

"Er, no actually, I'm starving and we just saw the food cart."

"FOOD!" Sirius bolts, in hot pursuit of the beloved cart.

"Come on Gracie, I'll pay." James says. Gracie hesitates, glancing at the trunk and then at Remus and I.

"Can you watch the stuff?" She asks nervously.

"Of course!"

"Sure!"

"We'll guard it with our life!" I grin and Remus nods over enthusiastically.

"Okay…thanks." Gracie follows James out, and the compartment door slides shut behind them.

Remus waits until the footsteps fade away and then gets up and checks the doorway.

"What's up, a potential robber already?" I ask curiously.

He shakes his head and sits back down across from me.

"I've, well I, has, -" Remus Lupin, a Marauder, believe it or not, can be overly polite at times.

"Remus, spit it out." I interrupt.

"Is it just me or is Gracie acting strange?" He asks in a low voice.

"Remus, her family was murdered, I'd be worried if she wasn't acting strangely." I frown.

"I know, but it just seems like she's…" He trails off, unable to put into words what he wants to say.

"It's going to take some time for her to get over this." I say softly.

Remus nods again, but frustration is still evident in his eyes.

"It sounds silly but after what Sirius said I think she's hiding - there it is again!" He stops in the middle of his sentence, frozen in place.

"What?" I ask looking around but seeing nothing.

"You didn't hear it?" Remus asks only mildly surprised.

"No."

"I've been hearing it ever since we got in here, but I can't place it." He closes his eyes, deep in concentration.

Did he just fall asleep? I know I'm not the most exciting person but I didn't realize I was that boring. I consider retrieving the book that Gracie was reading but suddenly Remus speaks.

"Listen, it's coming from – there!" Remus sits up, pointing at the trunk.

"What?" I ask alarmed.

"That noise, it sounds like something's…breathing."

"Remus what are you talking about, that's Gracie's trunk!" I break off because the trunk, is now moving. It's shaking, trembling, rocking back and forth as if it's…

"Oh my god it's alive!" I gasp.

"Get back Lily!" James orders coming into the compartment.

Perfect timing Potter, as always. He grabs my arm, and pulls me toward him. Remus scrambles to join us, and we huddle in the corner, our wands out.

"Should we attack it?" I ask. Spells, curses and hexes running through my head as I wonder what Gracie could possibly be keeping in her trunk that might attack us.

Wait, this is ridiculous, I'm about to do battle with my best friend's trunk!

"Why don't we just run?" Remus suggests wisely.

"We're Gryffindors, mate, and besides it's can't be…that big…" James trails off as suddenly the trunk tips over and all of the contents spill out. Clothes, books, quidditch stuff, dung bombs (hey we're in the same house as the Marauders, even I keep a couple in my trunk) and everything else tumbles out onto the compartment floor. Nothing out of the ordinary; just a trunk that randomly exploded for no particular reason.

"That's it?" James asks, obviously anticipating something more exciting.

"I don't see anything breathing." I observe.

Remus gasps, and we fall silent. The pile trembles, and the clothes go flying. Something, or rather someone, that is very much alive and definitely breathing, sits in the midst of the chaotic mess, looking up at us with a scared pair of brown eyes.

James groans. Remus drops his wand, completely overwhelmed and beyond confused.

"Oh no, Gracie didn't." I whisper, holding a hand over my eyes.

But she did.

"GRACEEEE!" The little girl suddenly untangles herself from the debris, and runs toward the sixteen year old that just entered. Gracie's jaw drops as the girl attaches herself to her legs. Quickly she scoops her up in a motherly hug. The terrified child wraps her frail, bony arms around Gracie's neck and immediately bursts into tears.

"It's alright, I'm here now." Gracie whispers soothingly.

Remus coughs, clearing his throat meaningfully. Slowly she turns to looks at the three of us, her mouth opening but no words coming out.

"I knew it." Sirius leans against the door post, a "told-you-so" smirk on his face. Gracie's eyes widen, shock flitting across her face as she holds the child protectively to her chest.

"How?" She asks Sirius fearfully.

"Know what? Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Remus asks folding his arms over his chest with a frown.

"I think we'd all like an explanation." James says softly.

Gracie tears her eyes from Sirius, and eyes us helplessly. She kisses the child's curling black hair, smoothing it with one hand. At last she sighs and sits down. She nods to Sirius.

"Shut the door."

* * *

"I had to do it, you see? I couldn't just leave her there. She lost everything, just like me." As Gracie finishes her tale, I look down at the mysterious girl now fast asleep in Gracie's lap. 

"How do you know all this, from what you just told us Gracie, you have no idea who she is, you don't even know her name, do you?" James asks, running a hand through his hair.

Gracie doesn't say anything. Instead she fusses over the little girl in her lap, playing with her hair, and moving her gingerly into a more comfortable position.

"Gracie, she's a perfect stranger! I've never seen the kid in my life and she was found in my house." James continues, but Gracie meets his eyes fiercely.

"I know, okay, I know! You don't have to tell me. Trust me on this one, she's lost, she needs someone to take care of her. I'm not sure how she ended up there, I just know that she needs me and I…I think I need her too." She whispers, bowing her head.

My heart breaks for both of them. Gracie's right of course. The little girl that I met in the hall was bleeding and screaming, begging for someone to comfort her and Gracie was mourning the loss of her family, it seemed inevitable that these two lost souls would meet up and find solace.

"She can't stay here." Sirius says gently.

"Why not?" Gracie asks, glaring at him. "Why can't she stay with me at Hogwarts? I'll take care of her. I will! There's plenty of food, and she can sleep in our dorm, right Lily?"

"Erm," I want to say yes, but of course I know that Sirius is right. I can't look Gracie in the eye. I turn my head painfully away.

"I can take care of her!" Gracie continues, her voice rising steadily. "I will take care of her! Nothing you can do can stop me. There's no rule against it!"

I can't look at her and neither can Remus. But James and Sirius, stare her down, and Gracie's rising voice falters and fades under their unwavering glare.

"She has to go home, Gracie." Sirius whispers.

Gracie looks up at him, then down at the child in her lap.

"I know." She says tearfully, "But where's home?"

Sirius closes his mouth, unable to answer her question. James on the other hand, looks up with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I think we might be able to arrange something…"

* * *

Wearily we enter the castle. Gracie carries, Angel, as we've taken to calling her, and the rest of us drag and levitate the trunks and owl cages. 

"They're here! Peter they're here!" My roommate's loud excited voice carries down the staircase long before her quick footsteps and familiar face follow. Tiffany Crowley grabs me, James and Remus up in one huge bear hug (Ugh, my cheek touched Potter's, even if it was for a split second, that's just nasty, or nice, depending on how you look at it.) and then turns to do the same for Gracie and Sirius, but stops when she sees Gracie's precious package.

"Aww, Gracie who's this?" But before Gracie can even think of answering this question, she notices the resemblance and comes to the same conclusion I did, except I thought she was James's sister, not Gracie's. "Your little sister's so cute. How come I never knew you had a sister?"

"Because she doesn't have one." Sirius laughs ruffling the smaller girl's hair.

Tiffany scowls and hits him, making him pay dearly for this relapse. (Sirius and Tiffany used to date last year. Sirius apparently still finds it hilarious to ruffle Tiffany's hair, since she's a lot shorter than him.)

"Peter!" Tiffany bellows up the staircase, but Peter must have vanished. "Must've gone to get more food, he's worse than you Sirius! Sirius? Gracie? James? Lily? Hey! Where are you all going? You just got here!"

"We need to see Dumbledore, erm, because, because he told us to when we got here." I lie through my teeth, doing a horrible job of it judging by the way James is smirking at me and Sirius is snickering, not to mention the obviously unconvinced expression on Tiffany's face.

"Can you take our stuff up? Thanks that'd be great sweet heart!" Sirius grins, practically begging for another slap in the face. Which he would've gotten, if Remus hadn't moved behind Sirius at that very moment.

"Fine, wait, you can't expect me to take up all of this stuff! PETER! Lazy, unreliable kid, never around when you actually need him. Where do you think you're going Lupin? Thanks for volunteering to help!" Tiffany grabs the back of Remus's robes, dragging him away. Remus shrugs helplessly, and obediently follows Tiffany over to the mess of trunks and cages.

"So…" I start once we're out of ear shot.

"So?" Sirius raises an eyebrow.

"Did you send them the letter?" I ask James.

James nods, and steals a look at Gracie.

"They're waiting for us inside Dumbledore's office."

Gracie nods, resting her chin on the top of Angel's hair.

An ancient statue of a gargoyle looms before us, growing larger with every step. Gracie starts dragging her feet, constantly glancing over her shoulder as if she's considering making a run for it. When we finally reach the statue it immediately springs aside, revealing a winding staircase and a strict looking witch dressed in emerald robes and a tall black hair.

"Hello Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Ms. Evans and Ms. Adams, go on up, they've been waiting for over an hour." Professor McGonagall, our Transfiguration professor, steps aside letting Gracie go through first and then the rest of us.

The door to Dumbledore's office opens immediately, and an old man with long white hair, and an equally long beard greets us.

"Come in," He opens the door, exposing his office and the tired, anxious faces of Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"James!"

"Gracie!"

James's worried parents leap to their feet and run to embrace their son and niece. Both of them stop abruptly when they see what Gracie's holding.

"Is that -?"

"Who? What?"

The four of us exchange a glance, and I swear I would've been laughing right now at the look on his parent's face, but of course this isn't a laughing matter.

"I'll explain everything." Gracie says sitting down in one of the chairs. Mr. and Mrs. Potter sit down in two chairs facing her and the three of us gather around behind her. McGonagall closes the door and Dumbledore takes a seat behind the desk.

Gracie takes a deep breath, and starts to tell the story all over again, from the very beginning right up until the train ride.

When she finally finishes, Heather and her husband are stunned.

"Who is she?" Heather asks at last.

"That's the thing, we don't know." James replies, sharing a look with me. I bite back a smile remembering the guessing game that we played on the roof and the ridiculous theories that I came up with.

"But she, I mean you, found her in our home?" James's Dad runs a hand through his hair, looking exactly like his son when he's confused or frustrated or god forbid, thinking!

Gracie nods.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter hold a whispered conversation, and Heather nods to her husband.

"Can we see her? Maybe one of the Aunts left her behind, your Aunt Cecilia has what eight kids now?"

"Ten, she just had twins." A shadow of a smile crosses Gracie's face as she says this.

"Oh, that's right. I don't want to wake her, but I might be able to place a name with the face, she certainly looks like she belongs in the family. Do you mind if I take a look?" Heather asks hesitantly holding out her arms.

Gracie's reluctant to relinquish the child, but when their eyes meet those of Heather, she must have seen something that made her suddenly change her mind.

"You won't have to worry about waking her. We put her in an enchanted sleep." Gracie says softly, as she gingerly transfers the child into Heather's waiting arms.

Heather's face softens, as she gently takes the child into her lap. She instantly switches into maternal mode, cradling the young girl, and cooing comforting, soothing words under her breath. Gracie lets her hands fall to her lap, and I place a hand on her shoulder.

I think that we made the right decision…

That is until, Heather suddenly gasps, stifling a scream. Gracie throws herself forward, but Heather pulls the child out of Gracie's reach and to her bosom. The child merely starts to snore softly, still wrapped up in an enchanted slumber, as Heather buries her face into the child's hair.

"Mom!" James and his Dad, both kneel down in front of Heather, alarmed and frightened. Heather lifts her head, tears in her eyes. She ignores James, grasping her husband's hand in her own.

"Look at her! Tell me, doesn't she look exactly like her?" She exclaims.

Gracie, Sirius and I crane our heads, attempting to move closer and see what they're talking about, but James stands up, blocking our view with his tall frame.

After another hushed conversation, Mr. Potter stands up and hugs his son and then turns to Gracie. Gracie peers around him, looking at her Aunt suspiciously.

"We'll take care of her Gracie, she's just, you know she hasn't gotten over your mother's…"

"Well, neither have I." Gracie whispers.

Mr. Potter smiles sadly taking his niece's hands in his own. "Your mother was a wonderful woman, one of the kindest, strongest people I've ever met, and your father he was more of a brother than my own and your brother was like a son to me. I don't think any of us will fully get over their deaths, we were lucky that we didn't lose you as well." He wraps his arms around Gracie, who weakly returns the hug.

"Don't worry about her, we'll find her parents and we'll bring her home." Her uncle releases her and gently guides her over to where the rest of us are standing.

"Take good care of them." He whispers to his son, handing Gracie to him. (I notice he said them not her.) James rests a hand on Gracie's shoulder, nodding. He leads her from the room, and I turn to look for Sirius, only to realize that he's already left.

"Hope!" Heather wails. "My god, I look into her face, and I see yours! What kind of games are you playing! Why are you torturing me? Why'd you leave me sister?" Her words trail off into incoherent mumblings between sobs. Professor McGonagall shoos me from the room, slamming the door shut behind me.

I dash down the staircase, my head spinning. The gargoyle jumps out of the way and I run to catch up with the others. But one look at Gracie's tear stained face, and James and Sirius's solemn warning and I close my mouth, deciding that now would not be the best time to bring up Gracie's mother.

* * *

I can't sleep. 

Tonight, I made a shocking discovery. Tiffany Crowley actually sleeps. Unfortunately, I now know why Tiffany Crowley never goes to sleep until long after all of us have closed our eyes. Her snores are nothing worse than a chainsaw.

I throw off the covers and slip out of bed, immediately tripping over the trunk that I dropped beside my bed.

Ow!

How could I forget that the shrinking charm would've worn off by now? I'm so glad that no one's around to realize that one of the top students in their year is actually the biggest idiot.

"Lily?"

Never mind, I look up and find my best friend curled up on the windowsill.

"Sorry, I tripped over my trunk." I whisper, though it's not necessary with Tiffany over there making more noise than a freight train. I should be screaming to be heard over that racket.

"Oh." Gracie laughs weakly.

"I hope I didn't wake Alice up." I say sarcastically.

A bomb could go off and Alice would probably sleep through it and we both know it. Gracie gives another weak laugh, this one feebler than the first.

"Couldn't sleep?" I ask, cautiously joining her on the windowsill.

"That's a dumb question Lily." Gracie says, amusement flickering across her face for a fleeting moment.

"There are no dumb questions." I quote our corny Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Again Gracie smiles. Her smile fades though as she looks out the window, and once again she seems lost in her own little world.

I stare out the window, taking in the view of the Hogwarts grounds bathed in a waning moon. Oh how I missed this place. As much as I enjoyed my parent's company over the past two months, and sleeping in my own bed, and not having Potter around, and not having to worry about something/someone blowing up at any second (courtesy of the Marauders), Hogwarts is without a doubt my first home. And Gracie, Alice, Tiffany, Frank, Remus, Sirius, and yes I suppose Potter, are my family.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you hadn't received that letter?" Gracie asks softly.

At first I think she's referring to the letter I received, the letter James was supposed to receive, informing me of her parent's deaths. Then I realize that she's talking about the letter from Hogwarts that I got six years ago, revealing that I was not an ordinary muggle, but a witch.

"I think my life would have been extremely boring if I hadn't been invited here." I smile recalling several interesting pranks of the Marauders, and all the fun times that Gracie and I shared over the years here at Hogwarts.

"So if you had the option to go back and do it all over again, you would still come here?"

"Yes! Getting away from my sister for three quarters of the year alone was tempting." I answer immediately.

"Oh Petunia, completely forgot about her, you do have a point there." Gracie chuckles.

"See, you've only met her once and you agree with me entirely!"

The laugh quickly dies on Gracie's lips, and she turns away to look out the window. I look closely and notice that even in the light of a waning moon it's obvious that she's been crying.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't a witch." She whispers, picking up her wand and examining it closely.

"Why?"

How can she possibly say that? I look into her teary blue eyes and suddenly, it clicks. Chris and her parents.

"They'd be alive right now if we were muggles." She twirls her wand between her fingertips, watching it as if in a trance.

"Gracie, you know that's not true." I say softly.

Gracie drops the wand, looking up at me.

"But it is Lily! There would be none of these murders, none of this dark magic, none of the evil that's slowly consuming our world." She protests.

I shake my head.

"The muggle world isn't any different." I explain to her. "Evil exists in all forms, in both worlds. You can go to the ends of the earth, fly out of this galaxy and it will probably still be there to greet you with a seductive smile." I smile sadly.

"It makes you wonder why we even bother living if there's no escape." Gracie laughs bitterly.

"Someone has to create the good in the world, someone has to counteract and fight against that evil." I struggle to make sense of this, such a basic concept, but so difficult to explain.

"Daddy and Mommy were good people, they were fighting evil! And look what happened to them!" Gracie's voice cracks turning into a sob.

She presses her hand to her mouth, leaning back against the window with her eyes shut tightly. I start toward her, but Gracie pushes me away. She pulls herself together, and in a trembling voice continues to speak.

"She lost everything too Lily, I just know it. I know it sounds silly, but I couldn't leave her. I didn't want to, I couldn't, let her go."

"Oh, Gracie." Again I move toward her, and this time she lets me in. I draw her into my arms, and she cries on my shoulder.

"She'll be alright." I promise. "You know your Aunt and Uncle will take good care of her." I reassure her, rubbing her back.

"I know, but will I?" She asks me, sitting up and swiping at her streaming eyes.

I look at her closely, my best friend, the strong one, the pillar of strength that always held me up, brought to her knees, weak, helpless and defenseless with tears in her eyes again. She sniffs, giving me a watery smile. I've never seen her like this before, but I know, just by looking in my best friend's eyes, the girl that was more of a sister than the one that shares my blood, that she's going to be alright.

"You will be Gracie. You're strong." I say seriously.

"I'm not so sure anymore." Gracie whispers.

"That's where I come in." I grin.

And finally, she smiles.

"I'll help you get back on your feet. I'm your best friend, it's like my job."

Gracie laughs.

"Thanks Lily."

We hug in a sisterly fashion, and it feels almost like old times, almost. Gracie's laughing, the tears are drying and the color is receding from her blotchy tear stained face. She will be okay. She's always been strong, and even if she wasn't, I'm right behind her every step of the way.

"What are you two laughing about?" A voice asks groggily.

Gracie and I jump. A half asleep, Tiffany, with bed head, stands yawning and rubbing her eyes. We'd been so caught up in talking and laughing that I didn't even notice that the snoring had stopped. Wow. How could I miss that? Guess we were having too much fun.

"Sorry Tiff, we didn't mean to interrupt your precious beauty sleep." I apologize with a grin.

"I don't need beauty sleep, I was born beautiful, you on the other hand…" I pretend to be offended and Tiffany shoves me, making room for herself on the windowsill.

"Excuse me but who gave you permission to have a party without me! I think I'm going to have to have a very long chat with the two of you. This might require some food, preferably chocolate?" Tiffany grins.

"Too bad we don't have any." Gracie points out with a roll of her eyes.

"You jump to conclusions far too quickly my friend."

The three of us whirl around to find Alice standing there in her dressing robe, holding a Honeydukes bag. She sits down and tips it over, dumping the sugary amphibians onto the windowsill which is by now extremely crowded. Good thing none of us are claustrophobic.

"Mother of Merlin, Alice is actually awake! Call in the Aurors, something is terribly wrong!" Gracie mock faints, and Alice hits her looking only a little embarrassed.

"What is the cause of this phenomenon?" I gasp.

"Tiffany actually." Alice says glaring at the girl who innocently stares at the ceiling, whistling. "It's hard not to wake up when someone falls out of bed and then tries to get into your bed."

Gracie and I crack up laughing.

"I said I was sorry, I was half asleep!" Tiffany protests.

"I realize that, but you still woke me up." Alice huffs.

"If I hadn't you would've missed out on the party of the century!"

"I am the party!" Alice snorts and takes a chocolate frog.

She used to be shy believe it or not. I swear! Then we, or rather loud, talkative Tiffany, corrupted her. Seriously, it was all Tiffany's fault! Gracie and I had nothing to do with it!

"What are we celebrating?" Alice asks me.

I exchange a quick look with Gracie, knowing full well that celebration wasn't exactly what we had in mind when we first started our little chat. Tiffany, probably suspecting it, and always the dramatic one in the group, immediately comes up with something fancy that sounds good, most of the time.

"A new beginning!"

"That's the sorriest excuse for a party that you've ever come up with." Alice laughs.

"You're right but at this hour the creative juices aren't exactly flowing, besides, since when do we need an excuse to party?" Tiffany asks.

"You have a point." I admit.

"I always do darling." Tiffany says in a conceited manner, imitating our final room mate, who's well, probably off in some guys bed.

But that's another story… It can wait.

Right now I'd like to thank the fates for giving me the greatest friends I could ask for. Tiffany and Alice haven't changed at all in the last three months and are cracking jokes and talking to Gracie and I as if the world hadn't crashed down around us last week. I missed the sound of Gracie's laugh, I missed Alice and Tiffany's friendly bantering, and I missed this, just the four of us girls, sitting around, eating chocolate and chatting about everything and nothing.

Bit by bit, the bricks are replaced, the world is slowly rebuilt. We can't bring Gracie's parents back or Chris, no matter how deep our friendship runs. They're beyond saving.

Gracie is not.

And so we spent hours, Alice, Tiffany and I, building up that illusion of the old world. And by the end of the night, I had pushed everything to the back of my mind and was aching all over from excessive dosages of laughter and smiles.

Gracie slept at last, soundly, without tears, without nightmares, without Angel. Hogwarts provided a shelter from the evils of the past, present and future.

For now…

* * *

**A/N**: _I know the beginning was weird. I don't know why I wrote that dream thing, maybe I just wanted to write an action scene and it didn't fit in, or maybe I was trying to kind of foreshadow, or maybe I just wanted to throw in a cliche since I've been acting so uncharacteristically unique lately but it does pop up later and its not going to make sense but don't worry I dont expect you to understand until later, much later, when you will have probably forgotten._ _The girl's party was kind of cliche too but I wanted you to meet Alice and Tiffany again. _

**Anyway the next chapter takes place about 2 months in the future, in Decemeber, at Hogwarts with all of our favorite characters and the plot for the next 5 chapters or so will be making an appearance. Yay! I'll try to update within the week.**


	11. The World Never Stops Turning

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_I don't think I'd be here if I owned anything. _

**Corrections: **_This chapter actually takes place **three** months after Chapter 9, Mid-December. Thanks **Your Oasis** for pointing that out to me!_

**Chapter Ten: The World Never Stops Turning**

_FLASH!_

_A green bright light explodes before me. _

_I can't see a bloody thing with this blinding green light surrounding me. It's as if the light's been frozen, stopped in its tracks, or maybe it's me that's stopped time. I'm not quite sure, but it's creeping me out. Cautiously I raise a hand and slowly reach for the light. My fingers quiver, my heart thuds in my chest, sweat slides down the side of my face. _

_What am I so afraid of?_

_I touch the light, and my hand burns, but I feel no pain. Suddenly the light's gone, swallowed up by a wand. I'm moving backwards. In awe I watch, as everything suddenly seemed to back up._

_I'm rewinding it._

_FLASH!_

"Lily! Wake up, Lily! Lily! Come on, wake up!" My eyes open, a blinding light pouring in through the windows. Immediately I close my eyes again. Someone tugs on my arm, shaking me frantically, but I cover my eyes and roll over.

_Rewind. Concentrate. Rewind. _

"I think she's tired," whispers a voice that sounds like Alice's.

"I don't give a damn if she's tired; she's not missing this," replies the unmistaken voice of Grace Adams.

No, not now. Let me sleep, I'm almost there, I almost had it! Not now!

But Gracie, true to her word, did not intend for me to miss, er, well I'm not exactly sure, but it must be important.

"Lily Evans, get your arse out of bed before I throw you in the shower. A _cold_ shower."

She's not kidding, either. Last week, I overslept and Gracie threatened me. Of course I thought, "What kind of girl would put their best friend in a freezing cold shower when it feels like it's below zero in the dormitories already? I mean, I would've gotten hypothermia and died. So I rolled over just to show that I didn't believe her, and suddenly I was waking up in the shower, cursing and freezing to death.

Some best friend.

Gracie paid her dues, of course, but it's still an experience that I have no intention of repeating.

I'm out of my bed in less than three seconds, wide-awake.

"That was close, Lily, real close," Tiffany whispers, earning a glare from Gracie. Both of them are perched on the windowsill with Alice, looking out at something.

I notice that they're still in their dressing robes and pajamas, and none of them have bothered to take a shower, change into their uniforms, or gather their books.

"It's Saturday," I realize with a frown.

"Yep, no classes today!" Alice chirps cheerfully, rubbing a spot on the icy windowpane with the sleeve of her robe.

I turn to Gracie, and fold my arms over my chest.

"You better have a good reason as to why you woke me up before eight on a Saturday morning," I scowl.

"Because we felt like it," Tiffany snickers. She must have seen me reach for my wand because she sobers and hastily adds, "Just kidding!"

"Why'd you wake me up?" I growl.

"It's snowing," Gracie says simply, shrugging her shoulders and turning back to the window.

"You woke me, because it's snowing!" I cry. "It happens all the time—wait, it's snowing? Really? You mean it's really snowing, right now?"

Gracie nods, a small smile stealing across her face.

I run across the room and jump onto the windowsill. I press my face against the ice laced window pane, staring out at the swirling, feathery light flakes spiraling down to greet the snow-covered ground below. It's the first snowfall of the winter! My heart leaps into my throat, childish excitement and anticipation rushing through my veins. Before I can stop myself I'm undoing the freezing latch on the window.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Tiffany makes a move to stop me, but I throw open the window and she gives a shriek and scampers back to her nice warm bed.

I lift my head, laughing as the snow lands in my hair, on my face, and in my open mouth. The cold air rushes into our room, the snowflakes melting and dripping down my neck. Gracie giggles, stretching out her arms, holding out her open palms. Alice shivers and wisely runs back to light a fire in the room.

"Shut the window; it's freezing!" Tiffany shouts.

Gracie and I ignore her. She grabs my arm and we dance around the room laughing in the midst of the swirling snowflakes, leaving the window wide open.

* * *

"Achoo!"

I offer Alice another tissue along with a sympathetic smile. She blows her nose, and crumples it up, adding it to the growing pile beside her. Gracie flicks her wand and the pile disappears. The three of us are sitting around the fire in our room, wrapped in many blankets and warming charms, trying desperately to get warm.

"It's your own fault you know," Tiffany says, making sure the latch on the window is securely shut before coming over to join us with three mugs of steaming butterbeer. "If Lily hadn't opened that window and let all the cold air and the snow in-"

"Give it a rest, Tiffany," Gracie laughs, accepting the mug. "You're acting like an old hag."

"I am not!" She protests, sitting down on the floor beside us and handing Alice a bigger box of tissues.

"I thought you were supposed to be the fun one in the group," I tease, taking a sip.

"I am!" she insists indignantly.

I exchange a look with Gracie and we roll our eyes.

"ACHOO!"

The three of us jump and I almost spill hot butterbeer onto my lap.

"Sorry," Alice mumbles.

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault you're sick," Tiffany says, patting Alice on the back and turning an accusing glare in our direction. "It's Lily and Gracie's."

"Mine? Lily was the one who opened it," Gracie says, quick to point the finger at me.

I have such loyal friends.

"You weren't exactly closing it either, doing that jig around the room and singing Christmas Carols," I tell her. Gracie blushes and the other two laugh.

"Ah-Ah-ACHOO!"

"Keep that up, Alice, and you might get out of our exams tomorrow!" I say brightly, referring to the Mid Year exams that we're given every year right before the holidays.

"ACHOO!"

"You know what, I think Alice passed it on to me. Achoo, Achoo, Achoo. Cough. Cough." Gracie fake sneezes and pretends to cough.

"Yeah, me too. It's very contagious. ACHOO! COUGH!" Tiffany's hand flies to her throat and she starts hacking as if she's on her deathbed.

"Nothing Madam Pomfrey's Pepperup potion can't cure," I reassure them with a grin.

"Um, actually, this is a very special case of the common cold. I don't think it can be cured by the Pepperup Potion," Gracie says hastily.

"Yeah," Tiffany nods furiously in agreement, continuing her deathbed theatrics.

"Well, we'll just have to find out now, won't we? Come on, let's go." I stand up and hold out a hand to both of them.

Abruptly the coughing and the sneezing stop.

"You know what, suddenly I feel fine," Gracie grins.

"Never felt better in my entire life," Tiffany agrees.

"ACHOO!"

"Yeah, me—ACHOO—too." Alice sniffles, blowing her nose again. "What? I—ACHOO—feel—ACHOO—fine. Honestly! ACHOO!"

Right Alice, and I'm going to marry Potter. I sigh and go to get another box of tissues. She's going to the infirmary, whether she likes it or not.

* * *

Alice and I stroll through the empty hallways of Hogwarts. The rest of the school's sleeping, outside, studying, or still at breakfast. It's nice sometimes to walk through these halls without the sounds of people bustling to and from classes or fighting with the Slytherins or laughing or cursing about the infamous Marauder's latest prank. It's freezing, though. Honestly, you'd think that being magical and all that they'd think about investing in heat. I know for a fact that electricity doesn't work at Hogwarts (bad experience with a muggle radio that I don't plan on repeating), but wizards must have an alternative other than old-fashioned fires. Right?

"I'm not going." Alice stops in her tracks.

She seems to have noticed that we're not exactly heading in the direction of the Great Hall. Took her long enough. She couldn't honestly have believed that I was going to eat breakfast after all the stuff we just ate in our dormitory.

"Oh, yes, you are. It's my fault you're sick, so it's my job to get you to the infirmary."

"Lily, I'm fine. See, I'm not sne—ee—eez—" She clamps a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from doing it. "See, fine." Again she ducks her head, covering her face with her hands.

"The Pepperup potion will only take a second!"

Alice turns around and starts walking quickly in the other direction. Or she would've if I hadn't caught a hold of her cloak and dragged her back.

"It won't take long and you'll feel so much better," I reason with her.

Alice glares at me, but it's ruined entirely when she starts sneezing again.

"Hey Alice!" a voice calls from behind us. "Lily!"

"Oh no," Alice groans, instantly recognizing the voice.

Oh, yes! I grin broadly, turning both Alice and myself around to greet the slightly chubby teenager hurrying to catch up with us. Frank Longbottom couldn't have better timing.

"Hide me!" Alice whimpers, running to hide behind me. She knows, just as I do, that once Frank sees the state she's in, there's no way she's going anywhere until she gets the dreaded Pepperup potion from Madam Pomfrey. If Alice even shivers, the boy's in overly concerned mode, ready to carry her off to the infirmary. He's crazy about Alice. It's a shame that she's too stupid to notice.

"What's wrong?" Frank asks, eyeing his best friend, who's currently crouching down behind me.

"She's scared of Madam Pomfrey," I explain, peeling her hands off of my shoulders, and forcing her to move out in front of me.

"Madam Pomfrey?" His brows knit, and, here it comes, the color practically drains from his face and suddenly he looks almost as ill as Alice. Only his eyes shine brightly with concern, worry and love. Though Alice, of course, never seems to catch onto this last part.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt? Are you sick?" He grabs her by the shoulders, inspecting her closely with a keen eye.

"I'm fine, Frank." But she sneezes. Alice never was a very good liar.

"You're not fine, you're sick. We've got to go to the infirmary right now." Frank wraps an arm around her shoulders and marches her off to the Infirmary.

"It's only a cold!" Alice protests weakly, but she's losing the battle miserably. "You're acting like I'm dying!" she complains, blushing, and shooting a glare over a shoulder when she hears me laughing.

Oops. I turn my back on them and start walking back to the Great Hall. That was a piece of cake. I'm good, I'm so good. Everyone thinks the Marauders are the masterminds, but I beg to differ. I think it's someone by the name of Lily Marie Evans. That's right, _moi._ Only a woman could set up something like that.

"These halls are freezing, and where's your scarf? You could catch a cold and die!" Frank admonished.

"Frank! Will you – no, no, you put me down right now!" Alice squeaked.

I can't help myself; I have to turn around. I catch a glimpse of them just before they turn the corner; Frank has boldly picked Alice up, cradling her like a child in his arms (though rather clumsily, considering it's Frank and Alice. Oh dear… I hope he doesn't trip. And Alice's face is the exact shade of my dark red hair.

I giggle and wave to Alice, but luckily Frank's back is to me, and Alice is too busy clinging to Frank (she's probably terrified he's going to stumble and drop her) and embarrassed to do anything. Later she'll probably try to kill me, but I know that secretly she's enjoying every minute of this.

She'll thank me some day.

I hope.

* * *

"Lily? LILY!"

I jump, knocking the Transfiguration book off my lap. Tiffany catches it, finally grabbing my attention.

"Should I say yes or no?" Tiffany asks, as if she's picking up where we had just left off in a conversation. I realize that she is, but that unfortunately I wasn't listening to any of it.

"What?" I try not to look too confused.

"Should I tell him yes or no?" she repeats.

"I don't know, what do you think?" I say wisely.

Unfortunately Tiffany isn't buying it.

"Lily!" she groans. "You weren't listening to anything I said!"

"Of course I was!" I lie.

Tiffany rolls her eyes.

"You know Lily, Hogwarts could be on fire and as long as you have a book, I doubt you'd notice."

"Well at least I'll die happily," I say sarcastically, pulling my Transfiguration textbook into my lap once more, and opening it up to where I had left off before Tiffany had interrupted my studies.

"You're impossible!" Tiffany mutters with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ms. Evans."

I don't have to look up from my Transfiguration textbook. I already know who it is.

"Potter," I groan.

"Hey James!" Tiffany waves.

"Hi Tiffany, how's the weather down there?" He nods to Tiffany, who's currently lying on the floor in front of the fire.

"It's heating up," she says, tugging on her blouse in a jokingly flirty manner.

"That's because I just walked in." He winks at us, and Tiffany and I both roll our eyes.

"I'm going to go cool off," Tiffany quips and before I can tell her to wait, she's left me with Potter and no way out.

Some friend she is.

He plops himself down on the sofa beside me. I knew it was a bad idea to study in the Common Room, why didn't I stay with Gracie in our dorm? That's the one place that Potter, or any guy for that matter, can't go. And the lady's room, of course.

"What are you doing?" he asks, scooting closer to me in an attempt to look at the book, and brushes his hand against my thigh. He accomplishes nothing though, because I pick up the books Tiffany abandoned and place them between us.

"What do you think I'm doing Potter?" I retort, trying to find my place again.

"Thinking of me?"

I snort. He thinks way too highly of himself.

"Potter, we have exams tomorrow," I inform him. No doubt he hasn't picked up a book, let alone opened one.

"Really?"

"_Really_." I roll my eyes at the mildly surprised expression on his face before returning to the book in my lap. "You know Potter, maybe you should actually do something useful," I suggest.

"Like what?" Potter asks grinningly, taking the opportunity to sweep his eyes over the length of my body. I'm sure I know what he's thinking and I definitely do not categorize that as being useful.

"Like studying," I frown.

"I am studying," he says with a wicked grin that has sent many a girl into a near nervous break down, and once a dead faint. Luckily, despite this insult to my sex, I am completely immune to Potter's so called "charms".

I grit my teeth, begging myself silently not to lose my temper, but still I'm glaring, letting him know he got under my skin and it doesn't help that my wand's currently pointed in his direction. Breathe Lily, breathe. He's not worth it.

He must have gotten the idea though, because out of the corner of my eye I see James Potter stand up and leave. Finally, now I can get some studying done in peace.

I lean back, pulling the book toward me. There's hardly anyone in the common room so the only sounds to disturb my studying are those of a crackling fire. I hear a whispering in my ear, and turn my head slightly. Then something touches my opposite cheek and I reach up and brush back my hair. I lower my head, ready to find my place in the book again, but there's something breathing down the back of my neck. I twist around and come within millimeters of Potter's face.

"POTTER, what do you think you're doing?" I shout in alarm. He falls back a step, giving me some breathing space, and a better look at the sly grin spreading rapidly across his face.

"Studying," he says innocently.

"Breathing down the back of my neck? Scaring the living daylights out of me? You call that studying?"

"I was merely reading over your shoulder," he explains mock seriously.

"Go read your own book!" I snap, suddenly at a loss for any witty, snappy comeback to make him go away. Sometimes looking at the almighty James Potter does that to me. He's not ugly, I'll give that to him. He may be a prick but he's a good-looking one.

"I can't do that," he says, leaning on the sofa. "I lost my book."

Believe it or not, he's telling the truth. Trust me, I've seen his room at home. It's a wonder the boy can find anything in that pig sty. Can you imagine what the boy's dormitory, which he shares with four other slobs, looks like?

"Borrow Sirius's!" I say exasperatedly.

"Can't, he's the one who lost it," Potter says smugly.

"Why don't you share your books with Remus? Maybe then you won't lose them all the time."

"He's always reading them!" he complains.

"Well, you could take a leaf out of his book!" I snap.

"I can't if he's always reading it!" he whines, completely missing the point.

"Potter! You're wasting my time!" I rub my temple, wondering why he has to be so insufferable. Another five minutes in his presence and I'll end up with a head-splitting migraine and a shot temper. His hand strays to my hair, and for a moment the gentle strokes are almost soothing. I close my eyes, only to immediately open them.

"What do you want?" I groan, swatting his hand away from my hair.

"You," he whispers.

He's so damn close to me that I shiver, feeling his breath upon my cheek. One part of me shuts down as his hands move to my shoulders, but the other half is still operating in full mode, and it's this part that chucks the Transfiguration book at him. He catches it, being the Quidditch player that he is, but it gives me time to get my defenses back up before he makes another pass at me.

"Evans, will you go out with me?" he asks as I gather up all my stuff—actually, it's Tiffany's stuff—preparing to go back up to my dorm where I should've stayed in the first place.

"NO!" How many times do I have to say it before it gets through that thick skull of his? I stomp off to the staircase but the git calls me back.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

I turn around, fully intending to give him a piece of my mind and a little bit of ego deflating, but James is grinning, holding out my Transfiguration textbook. I shove all Tiffany's books into one arm, and reach for it with my free hand. But Potter, the jerk, steps back holding the book to his chest.

"Give it back!" I demand, but Potter takes another step back, and then another. He smirks, seeing my predicament and not doing a thing about it. I have a whole stack of books in my hand, and he has at least six inches taller than me, at least!

"I'll give it back on one condition," he says, holding it high above his head.

I know what he's going to say, and I don't need to hear it again. Whether he likes it or not the answer is still-

"NO!" I drop all of Tiffany's books on the floor—she left me with Potter anyway—and take out my wand. "Accio Transfiguration textbook!" The textbook flies into my arms and I run upstairs, leaving Potter with a shocked expression, and Tiffany's stuff a mess at his feet.

"Hey, what happened?" Gracie asks as I stomp into the Sixth Year Girl's Dormitory.

"Potter was born, that's what happened."

I toss the stupid book onto my bed, kick off my shoes and sit down on the windowsill beside her. It only takes her a second to realize what her cousin did this time.

"James asked you out _again_?" she asks incredulously.

I nod, glaring at the snow-covered grounds, pretending that it's Potter's face, instead of my own, that I see reflected in the glass.

"What's this, the third time?"

"Fourth," I correct her quietly.

"Four times in one week!" Gracie's eyes widen. "I think that's a new record."

"No, there was that one time last year when he asked me out four times in one day," I remind her.

"Oh yeah, who could forget that?" Gracie chuckles.

"His head's so thick with thoughts of himself that he has to ask four times before he's able to process the word no." I shake my head, marveling at the boy's arrogance, determination, and stupidity. "Maybe he doesn't understand English?"

"Try telling him in Spanish," Gracie suggests.

"Good idea," I say, seriously considering the suggestion. There's only one problem. "I think it's still no."

"Oh really? Try Chinese."

"You know Chinese?" I ask her hopefully.

"No."

"Darn."

Scratch that idea. Even if I did know another language, Potter doesn't speak anything other than Troll as far as I know. Then again, he's always full of surprises.

My mind wanders back to the first week of September, recalling a very different side of James Potter that was revealed in the wake of the Adam's tragic murder. I still remember how broken and lost he'd been, but at the same time he'd never been stronger. I close my eyes, watching him in my mind, tenderly helping Gracie, clinging to me as both of us cried. While my heart was torn seeing him like that, another part of me wishes that James could've stayed that way. He was so different, so caring, so humble, so… not Potter. As soon as we arrived back at Hogwarts he snapped back to normal. That side of James, the side that I actually liked, was either hidden carefully or the responsibility of an alien power that had been inhabiting his body. Right now, after getting asked out for the thousandth time this year, I think it's the latter.

"Why won't he give up?" I groan banging my head on the window.

"You know why," Gracie sighs. We've gone through this several times and it's always the same silly but possible theory that hardly answers my question.

"Oh, come on, Gracie, there must have been some girl who's told him no before. I can't be the only female with a brain in this school."

Gracie clears her throat meaningfully.

"You're his cousin, so you don't count," I add quickly.

"Thanks, Lily," Gracie says, feigning a look of hurt. "Better make sure that Tiffany and Alice don't hear you say that." She grins. "They'd kill you."

"Tiffany was only fourteen and his first girlfriend, so I guess she doesn't count. He never asked Alice and it wouldn't have mattered if he had because she already wants to kill me," I point out.

"Why?" Gracie looks at me, curious, quickly noticing the mischief in my expression. "Lily what'd you do to our poor little Alice?" She asks grinning, obviously knowing where this is going.

"Nothing." I smile innocently.

"Come on tell me!" She begs.

I smirk and hurriedly give her a recap of our eventful walk to the infirmary. Gracie laughs and gives me a high five.

"Nice move," she congratulates me. "I doubt the Marauders could've done any better."

"Psssh. It was like taking candy from a baby. Frank is mad about her. He'd jump off the Astronomy Tower if she told him to," I say, brushing it off with a smug smile.

"I know, but –"

"-we're only _best friends_!" Gracie and I quote, imitating Alice, right down to the slight blush and the smallest stammer that only we, who have bunked with her for six years, could always catch.

"She's so blind," Gracie chuckles with a shake of her head.

"I know; I can't believe she passed her O.W.L.s."

"You and me both," she agrees.

It's right in front of her face. Why can't the girl see it? Everyone else can.

"She's going to be livid," Gracie snickers.

"Not if she snogs Frank," I say slyly.

"She won't until she comes to her senses, and you know that Frank's too much of a gentleman to do anything."

I sigh, knowing that she's right.

"Well, it was nice knowing you," I say solemnly.

"Since we're on the subject, I get your records, right?" She asks, dead serious.

I smack her and she laughs.

I roll my eyes. I have such _wonderful_ friends.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

"Someone's at the door," Gracie murmurs.

I lift my head, wondering who could possibly be knocking.

"Did you lock her out again?" I ask Gracie, referring to the banshee of a girl that Gracie, Alice, Tiffany and me are forced to room with.

"No."

Gracie likes to lock the door sometimes because _she's_ never been able to do a simple unlocking charm without blowing something up. All of us find it extremely amusing to listen to _her_ banging on the door, begging us to open it, and throwing out colorful words and empty threats. She deserves it, believe me, if you met our roommate you'd probably never let her into the dorm, ever. Though, come to think of it, she's hasn't been around much lately…

_Knock. Knock. _

I have a strange desire to ask who's there. Instead I tell them to come in.

It's not our _beloved_ roommate but my _favorite_ Marauder that struts into our dormitory.

"Hey, Gracie. Hello, Evans," he says smugly as if he's just broken a particularly tough school rule.

"James," Gracie frowns.

Alarms start going off in my head. I gasp, realizing that James is in forbidden territory.

"What are you doing in here?" I exclaim leaping to my feet.

"I just wanted to-"

"Can't you read? This is the GIRLS' dormitory!" I point out the sign on the door that clearly says _6th Year Witches_.

Maybe he can't read. It is, after all, in English, and as Gracie and I concluded today, he doesn't seem to understand what the word "no" means, which is one of the most basic two letter words in the English language. They should translate it into Troll. Hang on, do Trolls even have a written language? I don't think they can read.

"Look I only-"

"GET OUT!" I push him toward the door.

"No, wait!" James slams the door shut with his foot, and leans against it.

"What makes you think you can come in here?" I ask, reaching around him for the doorknob.

"I wanted to bring you your books!" James scowls, shoving the stack of books into my chest, hard. I catch my breath and practically drop the unexpected weight of several Hogwarts textbooks and various stacks of notes. Luckily James lunges, and together we stop the potential catastrophe less than a foot before it spills upon the ground.

For a moment, I can feel James's hands over mine, our eyes move from the books to each other and lock.

"Careful, Evans," He says softly, taking most of the weight, and helping me up.

"I don't need your help," I say, shrugging out of his grip and grabbing the books away from him. "You're not supposed to be in here." I narrow my eyes.

"I know, but you left your books in the common room and I thought it would be nice if I brought them to you, since you've been so busy _studying_." He sends an amused glance in Gracie's direction who's currently taking a break from cramming for tomorrow's exam, and is flipping idly through a _Witch Weekly _magazine that was left out.

"I am studying!" Gracie protests.

James raises an eyebrow and I snort.

"I was before—oh, shut up!" Gracie grumbles and continues to read their featured article ("_25 Ways to land the Perfect Wizard_") instead of opening her Potions textbook.

James and I exchange a look, and perhaps we were having a moment, but then Potter's ego kicked in and his hand jumped to his hair. He was going into the "look-I'm-so-unbelievably-sexy-so-why-don't-you-go-out-with-me" mode. He coughs, his voice becoming deeper.

"So, Evans…" he starts.

"Potter, get out of here before I get the urge to blow something up!"

"Your gratitude is overwhelming," he says sarcastically; obviously he had been hoping for a thank-you. A thank-you is the very last thing he deserves. I never thought he would sink this low.

"These aren't mine!" I throw the books and notes of whoever is his latest flavor of the week or head of his fan club at him. I don't take Divination!

"They're not?" James catches the books, confusion flooding his face. "But I thought—then who?" He stammers, trying to make it look like this was actually an accident and not another scheme to get me to go out with him.

"Hey guys!" Tiffany chirps coming into the dormitory. "Have you seen my books by any chance?" She checks under the bed, and then suddenly her face lights up.

"Hey, thanks James!" she grins.

"These - these are yours?" James asks, transferring the books into her arms.

"Yep, thanks, that was so sweet of you to bring them up here!" she laughs and gives him a sloppy exaggerated kiss on the cheek. Hopping onto her bed, she dumps the books beside her.

"Oh, no problem, just being a gentleman," James says slowly, though his eyes remain on me.

I snort. Potter and gentleman do not belong in the same sentence.

"I guess I'll..." He grabs the door but hesitates, still watching me.

"I'm thinking of summoning Professor McGonagall," I threaten.

"I was never here!" James runs out, shutting the door behind him.

I lean against the door snickering.

"How'd he get in?" Gracie asks, looking up from the magazine.

I shrug.

"He's a Marauder, Gracie," Tiffany answers exasperatedly from her bed.

And strangely enough, this explains everything.

* * *

**A/N: I have a new beta, Danielle, grape-2010 was kind enough to volunteer and she did a fantastic job helping me with my lack of commas and wording confusions. Thank you so much! **

**Okay, I lied. The plot makes an appearance in the _next_ chapter and you'll meet the girl's last room mate, the "banshee". So look out for them!**


	12. The Banshee

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own it. _Period

**Chapter Eleven: The Banshee**

"Gracie," I whisper, sending a fearful glance over my shoulder.

"What?" Gracie asks irritably leafing through my Potion's notes.

"Make him stop," I beg, sliding down in my chair in a weak attempt to hide.

"Who?" She stops on a page, hastily scanning the list of ingredients.

"Your cousin!" I hiss.

"Oh, what's he doing?" Gracie asks, barely listening. She's more worried about the potion's exam we have next block that she "forgot" to study for.

"He's staring at me!" I bury my face in my Potion's textbook and attempt to make myself one with the chair. I almost manage this without slipping out of my chair or falling on the ground. Perhaps a camouflaging spell would work better?

Gracie sighs, dully looking over her shoulder, confirming my suspicions with a roll of her eyes. I twist around in my seat, and James immediately grins, curling his fingers into a wave. He blows a kiss, and I make a rude gesture that sends Sirius into silent convulsions and James into a mock faint. Remus just shakes his head. Gracie turns me around before I can do anymore damage to James's _poor_ _little_ ego.

"Let him be," she says wisely, dragging me back to my Potion's notes to decipher something she can't understand.

"But he's so annoying!" I complain, unwilling to let it go.

"Of course he is," she mutters, patting my arm. "But you're letting him get to you, and right now, we have bigger things to worry about, like this Potion's exam that I'm going to fail."

"I don't know how you keep passing his class." I frown, slightly miffed that I put in all the effort and she just reads my notes the night before our exams.

"I shouldn't have but you know Slughorn," she chuckles. "My mom and dad are high up in the Ministry and you know that Chris is one of his fav…" Gracie stops suddenly and hastily clears her throat. She spoke of them in the present tense, as if they were still living. I squeeze her arm, but Gracie is busy shuffling around my notes.

My eyes wander to the window. Outside the snow has stopped falling. I haven't been outside yet, though I've been dying to sink my hands into the snow and create a giant snowball. I already have a target in mind. I smirk, wondering what kind of nasty charms I can add to my early Christmas present to Potter. Speaking of presents, I still haven't gotten my sister one, not that the constipated cow deserves it, but I would've liked to get my parents a little something more. I haven't written to them in a couple of weeks. Now that there's rumors that people are reading our mail the letters aren't much to look forward to. It's always the weather, perhaps a mention of Petunia or Dad, and then Mom just repeats that they all miss and love me. I can't talk, my replies aren't much better. Wouldn't you be a little creeped out and wary if someone was reading your mail?

They didn't mention anything about Christmas, but obviously I'll be spending it with them. The question is where? They were moved after those two Dementor Wannabes decided to drop by for tea with me back in September. This Christmas is going to be so weird. If it wasn't for the snow and the relief that our Mid Years are almost over, I might question if it really was Christmas already.

"HELLO! Earth to Lily!"

I blink, recognizing Gracie's hand waving around in front of my face.

"Anybody home?" Gracie asks, desperately trying to get my attention.

"No," I sigh and stretch out my arms. "What?" I ask, turning to her.

"What are the four main ingredients of the Draught of the Living Death?" She looks up from my notes hopefully.

I reach over and flip the page, the answer is written in large bold letters.

"Oh," Gracie says stupidly.

Obviously I'm not the only one whose mind is M.I.A. today.

"I'm going to fail!" she whimpers, dropping her head into her hands.

"No you're not," I reassure her. "Slughorn has a soft spot for you, especially since your parents, I mean." I fumble for words, but Gracie pretends not to notice and interrupts with another lament.

"Why didn't I study?"

"I guess you found _Witch Weekly_ a lot more interesting. I believe you looked through that magazine for three hours, before falling asleep, and then sleeping through your wake up call, and then flirting with him at breakfast-"

"Okay, I get it!" Gracie throws up her arms, surrendering. "I could've studied, but it's so boring," she moans, laying her head on the table.

"Tough luck, that's Potions." I glance at the watch that Gracie "borrowed" from one of her exes over a year ago and realize how little time we have left to get to class.

"And I wasn't flirting with him!" Gracie says indignantly, but her reaction was delayed by at least a full minute.

"Sure you weren't Gracie," I laugh, helping her gather up the books and notes that she threw all over the table.

"I would never date Sirius Black!" she sputters, her face contorting in disgust. "That's like dating James, except minus a brain, the whole blood related thing, quidditch skills and table manners."

"I can't believe you just said that James Potter had a brain and table manners!" I gasp, completely disagreeing with this theory.

"We're related Lily, I have to give James some credit," Gracie defends her cousin.

"You have a point," I admit reluctantly.

"I always do darling," Gracie drawls, imitating the banshee roommate, with a conceited flick of her hair and a plastic smile.

I laugh and link arms with my best friend.

"Let's go fail our exam!" Gracie says eagerly, gaining a bounce in her step. Sometimes I wonder if she's missing a marble or two.

"Speak for yourself," I snort.

"Ah, that's right, I forgot you inhale books, and study during every waking minute," Gracie teases.

"I do not!" I protest.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Bantering and laughing, the two of us rush off to meet impending doom. Well actually, just Gracie, since I actually studied, a lot, not every waking minute, but enough so that I would feel rather confident about myself and did not have to cram like Gracie. You never know Gracie might get lucky. Slughorn might lose his head and ask for the 25 ways to land the perfect wizard.

Okay, probably not. But wishful thinking never hurts.

* * *

"Turn in your flasks if you haven't already and you may go." Professor Slughorn dismisses the class with a cheery wave of his hand.

"Finally I'm free!" Laughing, Gracie races out of the dungeon. I grab my books and run after her, asking myself, not for the first time, if Gracie's playing with a full deck. I follow her up the steps, rising out of the cold and the dark, smelly Slytherinish corridors that still bare the faint scent of the Draught of the Living Death, rushing up to greet the lighted halls slowly filling with excited students.

I catch up to Gracie before she gets swallowed by a group of gibbering Hufflepuffs.

"I think I passed Lily!" She grins, laughing again in relief. "And that's the last one. No homework, no exams, no teachers for a whole week!" She skips off, humming a Christmas tune.

I don't remember the last time she was this happy, it's almost like old times. Gracie always loved Christmas. But still, she seems a little…over enthusiastic. It's almost as if it's forced. An act perhaps? I shake my head, wondering where I come up with these strange ideas. There's nothing wrong with Gracie being happy and it is in fact Christmas. Still, I can't help myself from inquiring if she's alright.

"I'm fine, no I'm wonderful!" She grins so widely that I fear her face might split in two.

"Oooh, somebody must've gotten laid." A voice giggles.

The sound of a deceivingly innocent high-pitched, maddeningly annoying, laugh wipes the smile off of Gracie's face. My body goes rigid, and I bite my tongue preparing myself to face… the _banshee_.

"Oh hello Debby!" I gush with false enthusiasm.

"Hello Lily. So Grace, who's the lucky guy that gave you that spring in your step? What'd you have to do, take polyjuice potion?" Debby, actually it's Deborah, flashes us a blinding white smile that never reaches her cat like golden eyes.

There's no question, she's pretty and she knows it. With her flawless figure, dark skin, silky black hair and the ample bosom that draws the gaze of nearly every male in the entire school, she could easily steal the beautiful people title from James and Sirius. But Debby has an itsy bitsy problem; she's easy. She sleeps with everyone, well, not the females, though I did hear rumors… Gracie was hoping that we could use them to kick her out of our dorm but we only got a lousy charm to keep her from bringing guys back to the dorm. I almost hope that I do get the Head Girl badge next year, at least then I won't have to share a room with her anymore.

"Contrary to your belief, you do not need to get laid in order to be happy and you do not need to take polyjuice potion in order to get laid," Gracie retorts, not even making an effort to act pleasant, let alone civil. "Though we obviously can't say the same for _you_," she adds, just loud enough for Debby to hear.

"That's funny Grace, but we all know that I'm drop-dead-gorgeous, though you unfortunately... well, you could be pretty if you didn't chop off all your hair but you'd have to dye it, and well you'd have to get a whole new body, oh and probably your face has to go too you know, it's just not that easy on the eyes," she says, surveying Gracie with a critical eye. Gracie's face flushes and she twitches. I pinch Gracie's arm reminding her that she's not worth it, even though I can see clearly that Gracie's about ready to beat her to a pulp.

"And how would you know? You just admitted that you're sixteen and still a virgin! What are you waiting for marriage? Have you even snogged a guy?" Debby giggles again as Gracie steps forward and whips out her wand.

"Shut your trap McLaggen!"

I look over Debby's head and find a glowering James Potter. Debby stumbles back a step and immediately stops giggling. Her smile though, stays fixed in place. I swear it's been plastered on there since birth. Gracie keeps her wand pointed at Debby, barely acknowledging her cousin.

"James! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, it's scary!" Debby scolds, placing one hand on his chest and wagging a finger at him as if he were a naughty toddler.

"You shouldn't insult people, it's rude," James snaps, brushing her hand off his chest, as if it were slime.

"I don't insult people James, I'm a sweet lovable person who tells people the truth," Debby says dramatically acting as if she's some sort of martyr.

I bite the inside of my cheek trying not to laugh. Debby McLaggen is about as far from being sweet and lovable as dementors are from being angels. She grabs onto James's arm, looking up into his face with an angelic, dead serious expression and I realize that she actually believes every word that comes out of her mouth.

"I know you're sticking up for you cousin James, and that's very kind, in fact it's a real turn on. Anyway, I love Grace, she's one of my best friends."

This time I actually do laugh out loud.

"But we can't keep lying to her. She's not pretty, by any stretch of the imagination. I mean sure she has an alright figure, she plays quidditch like all the time, it's like unhealthy how much she plays, but it's a man's sport you know? Muscles are great on men, you, James, have some _excellent_ muscles, but on a female it's disgusting and manly. It's not her fault of course, her genes, her parents, I saw their picture and they weren't very-"

"Silencio!"

"Petrificus Totalus!" I shout, letting go of a struggling Gracie who immediately fires upon the girl as well as James. Several spells, seemingly too many for three people, hit her head on.

And CRACK!

I lower my wand slowly and join Gracie, James and Sirius (who appeared out of nowhere) by the motionless Debby, stretched out upon the floor.

"Nice going Lily," James says, patting me on the back.

"I take it the silencing charm was yours?" I look up at him. James nods sheepishly.

"I bet you didn't want to maim her in anyway, you know you might ruin such a pretty specimen of the female gender," I grumble, recalling the many times James flirted with Debby over the last five years, though come to think of it, I can't recall anything recent.

"Actually no, it was merely the first spell that popped into my head. All I kept thinking of was how to shut her up." He looks genuinely hurt by my accusation and I kind of feel bad, not really though. He deserved that comment.

"Who punched her?" Sirius asks, whistling in admiration.

"Me," Gracie answers, flexing her right hand.

"Good shot," Sirius tells her.

"Thanks," Gracie grins at him.

"I would've done it myself but I was a little late getting here and basically missed the whole conversation," Sirius admits sadly. Still, it didn't seem to have stopped him from getting in a spell or two.

"Who gave her boils?" I ask.

"Me obviously," A familiar voice says cheerfully.

Tiffany and Remus come forward, both looking a little guilty, as they claim their spell work.

"I was going for pimples, or a skin rash, but boils was the best I could do," Tiffany sighs, kicking Debby.

"And the green hair and clown shoes?" I raise an eyebrow at this one.

"Unoriginal and silly, but I came in with Sirius and had no idea what was going on," Remus admits with a shy smile.

"That still doesn't explain the facial hair and the antlers."

"The beard I did," Gracie says but she looks puzzled. "The antlers though…"

"That little-" A string of colorful curse words greets our ears as the tall, well built, seventh year, not to mention female, Hufflepuff Quidditch captain appears beside us. Dorcas Meadows looks far from happy.

"What the hell is she going on about saying that Quidditch is a man's sport! Who does she think she is making false claims like that? I have three amazing players and they're all females, Hufflepuff's best chaser was a female, and they say that Helga Hufflepuff herself invented the sport!"

I'm not so sure about that one.

"Gracie's good, darn good at Quidditch and that's coming from an opponent's perspective. And Gryffindor, her own house, isn't there two other girls on the team? And Ravenclaw I think at one point they were all girls, heck, even Slytherin has girls. Ms. Debby McLaggen is going down! I'm going to tell everyone what she said, that little-"

Dorcas disappears as quickly as she appeared, stomping off to spread the word. The six of us look at each other. I couldn't be happier. There's got to be at least eleven or so females in all, perhaps more and if they all gain up on her. I could sing right now, seriously, Dorcas is a true Hufflepuff, loyal to her word, sport and gender and as soon as they hear what she has to say they're going to beat the crap out of little Ms. Debby McLaggen.

I start laughing.

Gracie looks at me, still a little steamed, and then suddenly she breaks out laughing too. James grins like a maniac, Sirius snickers, Tiffany giggles and Remus suppresses a laugh.

"Come on let's go before a teacher catches us," James says, slinging an arm around Gracie and me. He nods to the others and we start back for the Gryffindor tower leaving an unrecognizable Debby McLaggen, sprawled on her back in the middle of the second floor corridor.

I catch my breath as we arrive back in the Gryffindor common room. James throws himself down on the sofa, pulling Gracie and me with him. Tiffany flops down in an armchair and Sirius and Remus make themselves at home on the floor at our feet.

"I think you broke her nose Gracie!" Tiffany cackles.

I snicker thinking about the drama that will most certainly ensue now that Debby's precious face has been disfigured.

"I reckon you're right, that was one incredibly lucky punch you had Gracie," Sirius remarks.

"Lucky? Would you like me to show you Black just how lucky I am?" Gracie says, cracking her knuckles with a menacing grin.

"Sure, I could take you any day," Sirius yawns.

"Is that a challenge Black?" Gracie asks, jumping up from the sofa.

"Maybe," Sirius smirks, standing up as well.

Both of them put up their fists, going into a boxer stance. It's funny to see the two of them, raven haired and tall, with an athletic gracefulness that has nothing to do with her name. Neither one is entirely serious and there's something playful, even, dare I say it, flirty about the way that they start dancing around each other. Gracie shakes back her hair, which now brushes her shoulders. The day after we returned to Hogwarts she begged Tiffany to help her chop it all off. We all argued with her, but Gracie confided in me that the hair had to go because every time she looked in the mirror she saw a face that was becoming more and more like her mother's. After the confession I immediately told Tiffany to do whatever Gracie told her to do, forget style, no questions asked. As a result of this, Gracie hasn't had a boyfriend and has been nobly enduring the teasing of Ms. Debby McLaggen.

"Give me your best shot Black!" Gracie taunts, shadow boxing.

Sirius punches, but he gets nothing but air, as Gracie ducks. Eyes locked, wearing identical grins, they circle. It's déjà vu, except last time Gracie was murderous, out for blood was an understatement, and Sirius was sorely losing.

Remus and James root for Sirius, and Tiffany and I cheer for Gracie. I would love to sit back and really enjoy this, (Tiffany and Remus are placing bets) but there's a tiny problem that's weighing upon my chest, literally. I try to discreetly move but every time I pull away, James seems to come closer. He's rooting for Sirius, but mysteriously the arm wrapped around my shoulder and the hand lazily brushing against my chest, stay where they are as if Potter's suddenly lost feeling on that side of the body. How _odd_. It may be my imagination, but it seems that whenever I try to move, his hold on me gets tighter.

"Potter?"

"Aw, come on Sirius you're slacking! What is it Lily?" he asks, eyes following the boxing match.

"Um, nothing personal, but can you move your arm?" I ask, trying to be nice in the spirit of the things, even though he's definitely trying to feel me up. In fact he couldn't make it more obvious. Smooth, Potter real smooth. If it wasn't for the fact that you stood up for Gracie and are temporarily on my good side, I would have you hanging from the ceiling by your toenails.

"What? Pick up the pace Sirius!"

"You know what," I lower my voice and hiss in his ear. "Get your arm off of me before I-"

"Professor McGonagall!" Sirius gasps.

He missed punching the professor by mere inches.

"Mr. Black, you're going to pay dearly for that!" The Transfiguration Professor leans against the wall, clutching her heart. All of us freeze, watching in fear as our head of house, not to mention our strictest teacher, simmers with anger, slowly reaching the boiling point.

"Professor it was an accident!" Sirius protests.

"He's right, professor! He was aiming for me!" Gracie exclaims.

"Mr. Black is this true?" Professor McGonagall, though the explosion seems to have been temporarily stalled at a luke warm temperature, still looks furious. "Were you trying to hit Ms. Adams?" she asks.

"Yes."

"You were about to intentionally punch your fellow Gryffindor? A Slytherin I can see, but Ms. Adams? Our seeker!"

Immediately Gracie and Sirius realize what this implies and start talking extremely fast at the same time.

"No it's not what you think!"

"We were only playing!"

"We weren't really trying to punch each other!"

"Well we were…"

"But we're just fooling, you know, just having fun?"

"Yeah I wouldn't want to mar her face, seriously professor, that's like wrecking the Mona Lisa, and James and Lily would have my head."

"And Sirius would totally kill me if I screwed up his hair in any way. Just think of what his fan club would do to me!"

Professor McGonagall's eyes jump from one to the other, trying her best, but failing to comprehend exactly what they're saying since they're talking fast, over each other and at the same time.

"STOP TALKING!" she shouts unable to take it anymore.

Sirius and Gracie fall silent.

"Is this true, Ms. Adams, you were only…horsing around?" she asks Gracie.

Gracie nods and Professor McGonagall murmurs something about "immaturity" but the storm has passed and both remain unpunished.

"It's a good thing that I'm a lot younger than I look, that was a close miss Mr. Black, very close."

"Don't I know it!" Sirius breathes a sigh of relief.

"But since you didn't actually punch me, I can not punish you. Ms. Evans, before I was nearly assaulted by your fellow Gryffindor, I had the intention of delivering this to you. I suggest you act upon it immediately." I stand up and accept a scroll. What's this? But before I can ask, the Professor leaves with a final glare at Sirius. "I'll be keeping an eye on you Black." I hear her say as the portrait closes behind her.

"Nice one Gracie!" Sirius says sarcastically.

"That was your own fault, honestly, I was WAY over there. You weren't even aiming in the right direction." Gracie crosses her arms over her chest.

"That's because you cheat!" Sirius accuses.

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"What's that you've got Lily?" James asks curiously.

Immediately all eyes turn to me.

"I don't know," I admit. "But I guess I better open it, Professor McGonagall acted as if it was urgent."

I break the seal and slowly unravel the small note. James peers over my shoulder and I stand up to get away from him. He stands up with me, moving a lot quicker than me.

"Is your name Ms. Lily Evans?" I ask, pressing the note to my chest.

"No." James grins.

"Well than, you can't read it." I turn my back on him and this time he keeps his distance.

"That never stopped you from reading my mail," James says slyly.

I whip around, cheeks flushing as the others look stunned by this revelation, especially since I'm not denying it.

"That was a completely different situation!" I snap.

But that doesn't stop James from ripping it out of my hands. The note tears in half, as I pull away with half of the page still intact. I gasp, looking down at the small half of paper that James left me.

_Please come to my office _It stops there, thanks to the insufferable brat that has the other half.

"I would like to speak to you for a" James reads.

_moment._

_Al_

"bus Dumbledore. I'll be waiting"

_for you at the statue of the gargoyle._

"That's it! I was hoping it would be a scandalous love letter, the way you were trying to keep it secret," James says, disappointed by this boring summoning from the Headmaster and tossing the other half away.

"James, be reasonable, Professor McGonagall delivered it." Gracie rolls her eyes.

"So? That would just make it even more secret. It could be a code, McGonagall could be the unintentional messenger, of cryptic notes between Lily and her forbidden lover, or maybe Lily and her fellow spies!"

I snort, smacking James upside the head on my way out. Sometimes the imagination of that boy frightens me.

I have to admit, I am a bit nervous. What could Dumbledore possibly want to see me about? I've only been to his office once (other than that time with Gracie's parents and the mysterious girl that Gracie couldn't bear to part with) and that was when Potter and his pals thought it would be hilarious to frame me and Gracie for one of their biggest pranks. Oh yeah, Filch found it so funny, that he brought us up to Dumbledore's office, going on and on about how we were going to be expelled for sure. Being a mere third year, I was terrified, and hardly remember anything about the trip except that Dumbledore was more amused than angry and believed Gracie when she told him it wasn't us.

Perhaps it has to do with Prefect duties. That doesn't make sense because Remus would have been asked to come as well, not that he's much help, but he is after all still a prefect.

Or maybe…

Oh no! I stop in my tracks wondering if I should turn around and pretend that Professor McGonagall actually did get punched and was unable to deliver the letter, or that James completely shredded it thinking it really was secret information from a spy. Stupid McLaggen, why didn't I do something about her? I should've put an untraceable charm on her or anything! But why am I the only one who's getting in trouble?

"Hello, Ms. Evans. I knew you'd have no trouble finding my office." An old grey bearded man, dressed in a bright blue wizarding hat and matching blue robes, stands beside a clearly noticeable statue of a gargoyle that I very nearly walked past. Unknowingly I arrived at the entrance of the Headmaster's office.

Nervously I mumble a hello back to Professor Dumbledore.

"Come, follow me, it will only take a moment, I promise."

Do I have a choice? I get on the moving staircase behind him. We step off the staircase and meekly I follow him into the office. Immediately my eyes move from the hundreds of portraits of slumbering elderly former headmasters and headmistresses, to the various, strange whirring shiny metal instruments and finally onto the beautiful phoenix, perched on the far end of Dumbledore's desk.

"Sit down," he says, gesturing to one of the comfortable chairs in front of his desk. I sit down helplessly, stealing a quick look at his face before focusing on the dark glittering eyes of the elegant fiery colored bird beside him.

He doesn't look mad, but then again he doesn't look amused either.

"His name is Fawkes," Professor Dumbledore says softly, noticing where my attention has wandered.

"He's beautiful." And I'm not just trying to butter the Headmaster up here, that's something the Marauders would do, not me. If you ever saw a phoenix, trust me, you'd probably think that beautiful was not corny, but maybe in fact an understatement.

"Ms. Evans, there's something I think we have to discuss." Professor Dumbledore seems reluctant to stray from the topic of his beloved pet, almost as reluctant as I am.

Oh no, here it comes. I can't say I'm sorry for what I did, because I'm not, but then again it wasn't all me. I wouldn't rat them out though, I am a Gryffindor, though the Marauders and Gracie will clearly be disappointed that I got all the credit.

"She deserved it!" I blurt out.

"Excuse me?" Professor Dumbledore looks as if this wasn't exactly what he was expecting me to say so since I already blew it, I plow onwards.

"She was making fun of Gracie and the female quidditch players, and then she even sunk so low as to talk about her parents-"

"I'm going to pretend that I don't know what you're talking about Ms. Evans, because I came here to discuss your parents, not Ms. McLaggen's mysterious accident," Professor Dumbledore interrupts, clearly amused by this uncalled for confession.

"Oh!" I blush furiously and resist the strong urge to crawl underneath the desk and hide. Why am I such an idiot? Now I'm in trouble.

"Ms. McLaggen is going to be fine. I'm sure you were only inquiring about that. Weren't you Ms. Evans?" he asks, his eyes twinkling.

"Of course," I exhale. "I mean thank god, I was really worried!" I add hastily, playing along.

"That's what I thought you said."

I have to bite my tongue to prevent myself from laughing out loud. There's no way Dumbledore believes this, but if he's going to pretend to have forgotten the fact that Gracie, Tiffany, Alice and I hate our room mate and have done everything in our power to get rid of her, than I am certainly not going to deny it.

"You said something about my parents?" I ask, trying to change the subject before I start laughing uncontrollably and give Dumbledore no choice but Detention.

"Yes,"

I look up and notice that the twinkle's gone from his eyes.

"Lily, I'm afraid you can't go home for the Holidays," he says, folding his hands.

"Of course I can't, they were moved, right?" I frown.

Dumbledore looks at me sadly over the top of his spectacles as if I'm naïve, as if I don't understand.

"Yes, they were, but Lily, for the sake of your safety and theirs, I think it would be best if you didn't visit your family."

* * *

I walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room in a daze. I can't go home, I can't visit my parents for another six months, and even then… I shake my head, trying to ignore the empty feeling in my stomach. It's safer this way, they'll be fine. I give the Fat Lady the password and enter the Gryffindor Common Room.

I'm surprised to find the Common Room empty, save for a group of four, huddled close to the fire having a whispered argument. They all must have gone down to the Great Hall to eat. Funny, a little while ago I was starving, but suddenly I've lost my appetite.

I recognize the three heads full of black hair and one with sandy brown hair, bent together in front of the flames. Wearily I make my way over to them, mildly surprised that none of them have made it down to dinner yet. The three Marauders and Gracie are so wrapped up in the whispered discussion, that none of them notice as I sit down silently on the floor in between Gracie and James's chairs.

"Is this true?" James asks Remus and Gracie.

"Of course it's true!" Gracie whispers angrily and Remus shifts his weight and gives a reluctant nod.

"You heard this from Ophelia?" Sirius asks incredulously.

"Yes, she said that-" But James cuts Gracie off.

"Ophelia's hardly credible-"

"Credible? She's a raving lunatic!" Sirius butts in.

"They do have a point," I admit quietly.

All four of them look a little startled, when they at last look down and find me sitting comfortably on the floor between Gracie and James's chairs.

"She's engaged to Lovegood, you know the guy that runs Quibbler. She showed me the ring last week, so she must be a little crazy, though she seems happy, so I suppose that's all that matters, right?" I look up at them, and they nod hesitantly, scrutinizing me with their eyes. They're trying to figure out how much I overheard, I realize.

"That's great!" Gracie finally says enthusiastically.

"What were you saying about her anyway?" I ask curiously.

Their eyes dart away from me, all except for Gracie, who looks as if she's holding back a smile.

"Remus and I were waiting for you the other day, after the Prefect meeting, but you were kind of busy telling James off, anyway, Ophelia came out and I don't know how we got to talking, but she said that-"

"It doesn't matter what she said, it's not fact, Gracie, and we already determined that the girl's not exactly mentally stable," James interrupts hastily.

"She belongs in St. Mungos!" Sirius snorts.

"Just because she's a little odd, it doesn't mean she's bound for the mental ward!" Gracie tosses a glare at Sirius, and storms out of the room.

Sirius laughs and follows her out, but James lingers with Remus and I, staring after Gracie with a worried look on his face. I look up hopefully at Remus, but he shrugs helplessly.

"I'll see you two at dinner," Remus sighs, heading after the two, probably to make sure that Sirius doesn't do anymore damage.

"What happened?" I ask James.

He sits back down, smiling sadly at me.

"Oh, you know how Ophelia can get, she wasn't having one of her lucid moments and told Gracie and Remus something," He shakes his head sorrowfully.

"Poor Gracie, now she's got her hopes up, I don't blame her, I wish…" he trails off, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes.

"What?" I ask quietly, settling myself in Gracie's vacant chair beside him.

"Nothing," James chuckles softly and it's clear that despite how badly I want to ask him what she told Gracie, he's not going to answer.

I stare into the hypnotizing flames, dancing and flickering, changing from shades of violet to red and yellow. Immediately my mind travels back to the conversation that I had with Dumbledore. I came so close to losing my parents in September but we were lucky, unlike Gracie and her family. What's the point though, if I can't even visit them? I might never see Mom or Dad again… Ten or so minutes must've passed before James opened his eyes and nudged me.

"What'd Dumbledore have to see you about?" It's as if he's reading my mind. Then again, after the note incident, he's probably just being nosy.

I turn and look at him.

"My parents."

James's face falls and he grabs my hand fearfully.

"They're not-"

"No they're not dead." Relief floods his face, and I give a tiny laugh which turns into a choked sob.

"Then why are you crying?" he asks, reaching up and wiping at the tears that I hadn't even noticed were starting to form in my eyes.

I pull away and swipe at them angrily with my sleeve. Lily, you're a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake, not a first year Hufflepuff!

"I can't visit them anymore," I tell him in a tremulous voice, staring determinedly into the flames, even as my vision continues to go in and out of focus.

"Is this because of what happened after my Aunt and Uncle died?" James asks in a strained voice.

"Perhaps," I whisper, burying my face into my hands to hide the tears that won't stop coming.

I hate myself, why do I have to cry? Especially in front of Potter of all people! I feel his hand on my back, gently rubbing in slow circles. It's soothing and comforting, and I remember the days when it felt like all the world had been destroyed and it was just James and I clinging to each other in some desperate hope that by holding onto each other we might be able to bring it all back.

"Lily, look at me," he says softly, gently pulling my head up and out of my hands.

Again I tug down my sleeves mop up my tear streaked face.

"I'm such a silly wimp. Gracie lost her parents, and I'm wailing and lamenting about not being able to see mine for one lousy Christmas," I sniff, giving him a watery smile.

"Shhh," he whispers, brushing a few strands of hair away from my face and tucking it behind my ears.

I think the hat must've made a mistake. I don't belong in Gryffindor with my strong, brave best friend, or James who picks me up off the floor once more despite the fact that I've never known the troubles that he has. I'm such a coward, selfishly fearing loss and loneliness when my parents are still living and breathing thanks to these precautions.

"I'm such a baby!" I growl, disappointed in myself.

"No, you're not," he whispers, stroking my cheek. "You're one of the bravest people I know."

"No," I shake my head, but James grabs my face, freezing it between his two warm hands, forcing me to look into his sad hazel eyes.

"Lily, I know what you did to those two intruders. They wanted to kill you, and you fought them off, rather than leave the empty house."

"If you remember correctly I kind of couldn't leave," I take his hands off of my face, holding them in my own.

"That was my fault," James says, looking angrily down at our hands, as if he blames himself.

"But if you hadn't showed up James, I would've died," I add, squeezing his hands and then letting them slip from mine.

"I think you were doing a find job taking care of yourself," James smiles, tucking another stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Minus the fact that I would've been strangled to death, right?" I grin and James does too, even though there's nothing comical about it. I guess it's a sort of dark, morbid kind of humor, one that I'm getting used too. Even when the world goes dark, comedy never dies.

"You would've gotten yourself out," James says confidently.

"With my supersonic, telepathic, telekinetic, yet to be discovered powers of course," I quip.

James laughs.

"Actually, I was just playing the damsel in distress role. The whole time I was faking it, waiting for my white knight in shining armor. But the funny thing is that he never showed up. Instead this bloke called Potter, threw a vase at me-"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Sure you were."

"You would've done the same thing!"

"No Potter, I would've pulled a Gracie and thrown you in an ice cold shower."

The two of us share a laugh and then trail off into silence. James leans toward me, laying his arm on my arm rest.

"You hungry?" he inquires.

"I'm afraid I lost my appetite a while ago," I sigh.

"Yeah, me too," James agrees.

Suddenly I hear a growling noise, and both of us look down at his stomach.

"Right," I say sarcastically.

"Oh alright, maybe I'm a tiny bit hungry," James admits sheepishly. His stomach growls again, louder this time. I giggle and James grins. "Okay, maybe I'm famished."

"You're always hungry!" I roll my eyes, typical guy. He's almost as bad as Sirius, I said almost.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy." James gives me the all too famous Potter grin, with a slight shrug of the shoulders. I chuckle, he can be so cute at times. That is, when he's not trying to slide his hand up my skirt, or ask me out for the one millionth three hundred and fifty fifth time.

"You're sixteen," I point out.

"I'll be seventeen in forty nine days." James stands up drawing himself up to his full height and puffing out his chest.

"That just makes it worse," I mutter trying hard not to notice how tall he is, or how good quidditch has been to his body. He's a jerk Lily, no matter how good his body looks right now, or how nice he was to you… STOP STARING! I blink, and force myself to laugh at the ridiculous but flattering pose that he's struck.

"Come on you're too skinny. You need food." James grabs me by the arm, gently tugging me to my feet.

"I guess I'm a little hungry, and they're probably wondering where we are…" I say hesitantly, allowing him to guide me to the portrait.

"I know, imagine the horror if they found you talking to me. It might ruin your reputation!" James gasps dramatically holding the portrait open for me.

"That's not true," I climb through the portrait and wait for him.

"Then why won't you go out with me?" James asks quietly, looking down at me with his blazing hazel eyes.

My tongue gets stuck, and I'm mysteriously at a loss for words. There are a lot of reasons why I won't go out with you James.

First, you're a selfish git. You feel me up, ask me out a hundred times a week, stare at me in class, embarrass me, scare off other guys who might be interested in me, you're so into yourself that you can't stop to think of how I might actually feel.

Second, you're not my type. You're obsessive, stalkerish, selfish, arrogant, not very smart (well he does have a brain but he's not exactly studious), troublesome, a Marauder, star quidditch player, popular and not to mention drop dead sexy. (Um where'd that come from?) You're certainly NOT the white knight, my Prince Charming. (Who I might add, is extremely late, but he's coming, I'm sure he's on his way, just give him some time to make his grand entrance.)

And finally, I can see myself falling hard for you and you just tossing me aside when you're finished with me. I'd be a mere challenge, a bet that you made with yourself that you'd finally won. I'd just be another person giving the spoiled brat exactly what he wanted and I will never give in. _Never_. Even if he can be sweet at times, even if he does actually have a different side of him that I actually could fall in love with, even though there is more to James Potter than I expected, even though I almost said yes, even though he proved me wrong, caught me when I fell, held me when I cried and helped me to my feet. There will always be that chance, that this might be just another conquest, Lily Evans, the first girl that ever told him no.

"I'll never go out with you because you'd hurt me," I whisper, turning away.

James is stunned, or maybe he's only confused, you know the whole English language concept, he can't seem to understand. I was almost to the stairs when he finally caught up to me.

"Lily! Wait!" He grabs my arm, yanking me back.

"Let go of me James!" I say automatically, my free hand robotically trying to pry his fingers off of my wrist.

"I would never hurt you Lily, never!" he says hoarsely, touching my face. His eyes are so intense, his hand so gentle on my cheek. I close my eyes for a second, one second, savoring the moment. If only it wasn't Potter, the selfish git who continues to believe that the universe revolves around him, despite the fact that Hogwarts, though it may feel like it, is not the heart of our planet, let alone galaxy.

I open my eyes.

"How many of them actually believed that?" I ask with a sad smile. He tells all the girls this. I know he does.

James opens his mouth, but I don't want to hear it, I'm sick and tired of this, of him, of everything.

"Let go of me Potter." I look away, wearily tugging at my arm.

James releases me without question, and I take the opportunity to run down the staircase. It's my lucky day, because before James can set foot on it, it starts to move. James looks as if he might jump, and for a second I fear that the idiot might. But a moment later, he stumbles backwards, and finds me watching him. Quickly I turn around, determinedly waiting for the staircase to arrive at it's next destination, which I know will bring me to the Great Hall five minutes faster even if he runs or uses one of the secret shortcuts that the Marauders spent all their time hunting for as naïve, innocent first years.

"Lily you're different! You're different from all of them!" he calls after me.

His voice fades away as I step off the staircase, and hurry off toward the Great Hall. I smile sadly because a part of me wishes it was true.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter, Christmas break begins! **


	13. She's Insane

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Alice's shoe belongs to me._

**Chapter 12: Homecoming**

The Sixth Year Gryffindor Girl's Dormitory has been transformed into a war zone. Clothes are scattered all over the room, the beds are unmade and stray objects litter the floor. If it wasn't for the fact that there's so much feminine apparel and products crowding the rug, (I can't even see it anymore) I might ask myself if I had walked into the Boy's dormitory. Gracie and Tiffany run around the room, tripping and stumbling over clothes and books. Alice is over near my bed doing a weird sort of jig as if she's some sort of Irish Step Dancer on drugs.

"My shoe! I can't find my shoe!" Alice wails, hopping around on one foot.

Alice's always loosing things. I look around in amusement, watching as Alice climbs under Tiffany's bed in search of the elusive shoe. On the other side of the room, Gracie and Tiffany do a frenzied packing job that they left off to the last minute. Tiffany overslept, and Gracie, though she was up long before all of us, is a huge procrastinator. Of course, I, being the organized one, started packing two days ago. I can't help but smile a little smugly.

"Lily, have you seen my cloak?" Alice asks desperately, after finding the shoe. She rummages through Gracie's half filled trunk in search of the missing cloak.

Someone bangs on the door and I jump up to get it.

"Housekeeping!" a freckled face girl jokes.

I roll my eyes at Mary Pewter, the Gryffindor who received the Head Girl badge instead of Ophelia. Mary adjusts her spectacles, squinting as she steps a little closer to get a look at the room. Hastily I try to fill the doorway, with my small figure by spreading out all of my limbs. I wish I could save my friend's from the lecture that will surely ensue, but I know that even as I close the door that there's no escaping once Mary puts her mind to something. Mary's frown indicates that she already witnessed the disaster zone, that only hours ago was actually, believe it or not, our dorm.

"Good golly! What happened? Did a volcano erupt?" Mary asks, staring at the closed door.

"Er, not quite," I laugh nervously. "Don't worry, we're finished, just making sure we didn't forget anything," I lie through my teeth.

Mary stares at me and then shakes her head.

"Better you than me, the train leaves in exactly ten minutes, I thought for sure that everyone was done, but apparently some people, won't mention any names, sixth years, had more important things to do." She walks away, rapping on the Fifth Year Girl's dormitory, which I'm thrilled to notice, looks much worse than ours.

"The train leaves in ten," I tell them, stepping back inside. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Tiffany and Gracie chorus. Tiffany's yanking at her hair, asking us if she's forgotten something. Gracie sits on top of her overflowing trunk trying to close it. Merlin, why are they taking so much stuff home?

"We have to leave NOW!" I sigh exasperatedly.

I point my wand at Gracie's trunk and it immediately closes, though a couple of sleeves and pant legs hang out. Gracie whines until I correct this comical mistake. Finally we're able to convince Tiffany that she hasn't forgotten anything, and start for the door.

"My cloak!" Alice moans, dancing around as if she has to go to the bathroom.

"Accio Alice's Cloak!" I summon the cloak.

Gracie grabs the cloak, which came hurdling through the door as if it had been left out in the common room or maybe, no, but she's blushing! There's no time for theories though and we hurry out of the room before Alice can realize that she's lost something else.

Debby McLaggen, conveniently couldn't come out of the Infirmary until we were at breakfast this morning. Alice explained, with a smirk, that it was because she's afraid that her nose is still broken, despite Madam Pomfrey's excellent mending skills. Typically vain, conceited, shallow McLaggen, at least we didn't have to deal with her. Alice looks a lot healthier now, as we step onto the train. I notice how a mysterious rosy glow fills her cheeks as Frank immediately takes her things (accidentally dropping it on some poor second year's feet) and then offers her his hand to help her up onto the train. I don't dare laugh, or make any assumptions of any kind, because Alice gives me a warning look as if reading my mind. A few strands of my hair are still an extremely ugly shade of green. (Payback for when I sent her to the hospital wing with Frank.)

Not too far away the infamous Gryffindor gang stands, no doubt planning to go out with a bang. I only hope they don't try to blow up the train while I'm still on it.

"Let's get a compartment," Gracie says quickly, meeting my eyes and knowing what I'm thinking.

Since Alice totally ditched us for lover boy, the three of us get on the train (managing the step fine), and locate an empty compartment not too far down the train, which, much to my chagrin, happens to have a wonderful view of the Marauders who are still standing huddled outside on the snowy platform.

"You're so lucky to be able to spend the holidays with the Marauders and your best friend!" Tiffany sighs, wistfully eyeing the laughing boys outside.

"I think I'd rather be spending it with my family," I say sadly.

The other night I told Tiffany, Gracie and Alice what Dumbledore had wanted to see me about.

"_Oh I would invite you, but, I'm um, I'm going to visit Frank for a few days, but if you want," Alice mumbled, blushing (though they were only best friends). But I had received my green hair only recently and wasn't about to make a comment, though Gracie looked strongly tempted._

"_It's alright Alice, I think I'll just stay here, it won't be so bad you know…" I trailed off sadly. I had never spent Christmas alone and the thought was extremely depressing to me._

"_Well you know you could stay with me and my Dad, but I have to stay with **her** again," Tiffany grumbled, referring to her mother, who had left both Tiffany and her dad soon after she was born. The woman had mysteriously walked back into Tiffany's life only a couple of years ago and Tiffany hated her with a passion, but was still forced to visit her during holidays. _

"_Lily, don't be ridiculous, you're more than welcome to stay with us, you're practically family!" Gracie said quickly. _

_Alice, Tiffany and I exchanged a look, noticing once again what Gracie hadn't. Gracie saw the look, and went quiet for several minutes._

"_You mean the Potters?" I asked tentatively, when I finally found my voice again._

"_Of course, I did!" Gracie forced some cheeriness into her voice and immediately ran off to find James who was more than happy, according to Gracie, to have me in his home._

So yeah, I'm thrilled to be spending the holidays with my best friend, but I'm not so psyched about the Marauders. In fact I'm dreading it, especially after what happened yesterday with James on the staircase. Awkward, awkward, and his parents seem to think that we are already an item and James has done nothing to indicate that this is a big fat lie, so yeah, lots of fun at the Potters. Whoop-de-doo.

"I know Lily, it must be hard for you," Tiffany says sympathetically and both of us involuntarily steal a look at Gracie who's scowling at Sirius. (He's making faces at her on the other side of the window.)

"I'm going to miss Daddy, but my mother, if you met her. I hate her. She's a total -" she trails off, saying something under her breath that causes me to grin amusedly.

"It's not fair!" she whines, still watching the guys, who are now breaking up (because Gracie threatened to shut the shade) and heading toward the train.

"Oh, quit you're whining! Black's the very last thing I want to see in my face on Christmas morning," Gracie grumbles as Sirius suddenly runs back and starts writing rude comments on the frosty window pane.

"Likewise," I murmur, replacing Black with Potter.

Tiffany laughs as James and Remus join him. Even though it's backwards I can make out the words "James Potter loves Lily Evans" Gracie frowns at Sirius's next sentence, and writes something back. James roars with laughter, and Tiffany gasps before dissolving into giggles. Remus on the other hand, catches my eye and I realize that he's been trying to do this for a while.

"Can we talk?" he mouths, making sure that the others are distracted.

I frown, but discreetly nod my head, silently indicating that I'll meet him at the end of the train.

I slip out unnoticed, and notice the top of Remus's sandy hair, moving rapidly past the windows. Hurriedly I follow, all the while, wondering, what does he want to talk to _me_ about? I mean sure, we're friends, kind of, and yeah we're prefects, and have a lot in common, but we never really talk except during prefect meetings or sometimes in class. Remus overtakes me outside, and hops up onto the train before I reach the end.

"Hi," I smile uncertainly. "What'd you want to talk to me about?" I ask curiously.

"Not here," Remus looks around nervously. He brushes past me, in search of a more private spot to talk. Passing by, he grabs my wrist, pulling me through the students behind him. A few compartments down, he stops, dragging me inside the empty compartment and slamming the door shut.

"I have to warn you, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't," Remus whispers. "Remember when you walked in on us in the Common Room the other day, when we were talking about something Ophelia said to Gracie?"

"Of course," I frown, wondering why Remus looks so upset by this information.

"Ophelia said something about the funeral and Gracie took her seriously, very seriously."

I swallow hard, my heart sinking. This can't be good.

"Lily, you're the only one that can stop her. I'm hoping that I'm completely wrong, but I think that over the Holiday Gracie's going to attempt something very dangerous and extremely stupid. I think she's going to look for-"

The compartment slides open so fast that I fear it might shatter. I jump back, my heart slamming in my chest. But it's only James.

"James!" I gasp.

He looks livid.

"What's going on here?" James asks, angrily folding his arms over his chest.

"Uh," Remus and I look at each other, extremely confused. "Nothing?" I answer, raising an eyebrow.

James looks from me to Remus, and then realizing that we're telling the truth, uses another tactic.

"Well what were you doing… _alone_?" He asks, lowering his voice and narrowing his eyes.

"We were _talking_." Remus rolls his eyes and exits the compartment, nearly barreling over petite little Tiffany who had been standing near the door. "Sorry," he apologizes and Tiffany blushes as she's exposed.

"Oh, there you are Lily! I was wondering where you went!" she laughs, eyeing James and I nervously. "I'll – er - tell Gracie I found you." She slowly backs out of the compartment and runs after Remus.

Great, I get some more alone time with Potter. Just what I wanted.

"How long has this been going on?" James asks, studying his nails in a not-so-casual manner. I resist the urge to roll my eyes like Remus did.

"The talking thing, oh well it started when I got to Hogwarts, I met Remus in Charms class, I said "Hi, my name's Lily, do you want me to help you with the Charm?" and he said "Hi, my name's Remus, yes, that'd be great." but if you really want to know the truth, I started talking when I was a year old, or maybe I was younger, or older…"

"Shut up, I didn't ask about that," he snaps.

"Oh, you didn't! Well then what were you asking about James?" I ask smirking, knowing full well what assumptions James made when he walked in on the two of us. I could save him a lot of drama, but it's fun to watch him squirm.

"You're snogging Remus!" he bursts out after several moments of agonizing silence.

I suppress a laugh. I'm strongly tempted to lie and say that we were, but I notice the look on his face. James looks as if a Quidditch has just been canceled…for life. Besides, I don't think Remus would be too keen if I went around telling people that I was his girlfriend. First of all, I'm not that great of a catch, though for some absurd reason Potter thinks I am. Second of all, judging by the look on his face when he first walked in, I think James would tear Remus to shreds. Friend or not, he'd probably teach him a lesson he'd never forget. I shudder, wondering if I'll ever be able to have a boyfriend without having to worry about my unwanted stalker assaulting him in the hallway.

"You're his girlfriend, aren't you?" James misreads my hesitance.

"Um, no."

"What are you then, friends with benefits?" he asks, trying but failing to look as if this doesn't matter to him.

"Unless an extra brain counts as a benefit, I believe we're just friends." I smile, watching as his muscles relax and the tension leaves his body. He looks up hopefully at me, his hazel eyes meeting mine.

"You mean there's nothing between you two?" he inquires hesitantly.

"Nothing," I admit.

"And you were only…"

"We were only _talking_." I grin, repeating exactly what Remus told him.

Hearing it from me, James accepts it. A slow smile spreads across his face, and smugly he looks me over as if to say, "I knew all along that nothing was going on here, I was just testing you.". I scowl hating the fact that he can be so arrogant even after he just made such a huge mistake.

"Well, Evans, I guess I'll see you around, since you are coming to stay with me." He starts to leave.

"Wait just a minute Potter, we're not finished here." I grab the back of his robes to stop him. Just then the train jerks forward, finally getting off to a delayed start to the long journey home. The result, James loses his balance and falls backwards, onto me. We topple, landing on the seat.

"Get off me!" I hiss, pushing at Potter who's practically sitting in my lap. Why does it always end up this way? You'd think I were a klutz considering the amount of time I spend with Potter on me and the other way around.

"I happen to be very comfortable." Potter grins, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Well I'm not!" I growl, unsuccessfully shoving him with my one free arm.

"MOVE!"

"No!" Potter smirks, knowing that I can't reach my wand and he's a lot heavier than I am. But he doesn't realize that I can still…

CRACK.

Potter swears. Instantly he hops off me, holding his face where I slapped him. Already there's a nice red hand print forming. Maybe if I'm really lucky, there will be a black and blue. I mustn't get my hopes up, but imagine what his fans would think.

I fly out the compartment running into both Gracie and Tiffany.

"Well it's about time the train started moving," Gracie is saying to Tiffany. "You know what the delay was, don't you? Princess McLaggen held us up. She wanted to pack, so of course they had to stop the world, just so she could get her stuff being mortally injured and all." Tiffany and I crack up laughing and Gracie grins.

"Oh there you are Lily, we were wondering where you went." Gracie notices me, and moves over so I can walk between them.

"What'd Remus want to talk to you about?" Tiffany asks eagerly.

"Oh, nothing, he wanted to pass on something from the prefect meeting to me." Tiffany quirks an eyebrow, exchanging a look of disbelief with Gracie. They clearly don't believe it, but I can't very well come out and tell them that Remus wanted to pre-warn me that Gracie was going to attempt something stupid over the holiday.

"He's stuck here over the holidays, did you know that? It's going to be him and Peter. I guess his mom took ill at the last moment and didn't want him to catch it. Poor Remus. I would rather stay at Hogwarts with them than go visit my mother. The woman's so vain, so horrible, that I'm ashamed to admit that we're related. She divorced her 11th husband, I mean, who the hell goes through eleven loveless marriages? It's like a hobby for her. If I didn't know how awful and heartless she is I might check to see if she were mentally stable."

We reach the compartment with Tiffany still babbling on about her mother and her eleventh ex-husband. She takes a seat and Gracie and I sit down side by side across from her. Gracie takes out _Witch Weekly_ ("Does Your Favorite Wizard Fancy You? 10 Tell Tale Signs That Romance is Brewing") again, pretending that she's actually listening to Tiffany. It's not like we haven't heard this before, we listened the first few times, I swear, but there's only so many insults Tiffany can create for the faceless woman and her long line of exes and though it was amusing, it gets boring after the fourth or fifth time. I nod my head a couple of times, submit a view "Yeah"s, and completely tune her out.

* * *

The cold air swirls around us as we step off the train. Around us parents and siblings run forward, laughing and shouting, answering the joyous calls of the students that claim them. For a split second I think that I see my mother, but as the woman steps into the light, I realize that the woman looks nothing like her. I can't help but feel disappointed. I watch as the woman gathers the furs closely around her, wondering how I could possibly mistake this stuck up lady for my mother. The woman scans the group, scowling. She tosses her flowing blonde hair, turning to the huge wizard beside her who happens to be wearing a black robe, and yes, sunglasses. 

"Is that a body guard?" I ask aloud, and I'm surprised to find both Gracie and Tiffany staring at the beautiful snobby woman and her body guard.

"Oh no!" Tiffany moans looking as if she wants to sink into the pavement and disappear. "Hide me, please!" she squeaks, pushing Gracie in front of her (who happens to be the tallest).

"Tiffanella!" The woman calls out waving. She's no longer scowling, but I can't help but notice that her wide smile looks completely fake.

"Tiffa what?" Gracie asks. She looks at me, and I know we're both thinking: Blackmail.

_Tiffanella_ groans behind Gracie, but slowly creeps out from behind her defective shield. The woman, who must be Tiffany's unbearable mother, parts the crowd dramatically with her body guard as she gracefully strides over to greet her daughter.

"It's been ages darling!" She stretches out her arms, as if she's waiting for Tiffany to run right into them. Tiffany gives us a look that clearly says "You've got to be joking, right?" And Gracie and I have to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

"Write me," she begs us, before reluctantly joining her mother. The body guard picks up the trunk as if it's a feather. Where does he work out or maybe I should be asking, what kind of drugs is he on? Her mother gathers Tiffany into a huge hug (which is unreturned) and then walks away with her arm around Tiffany, waving her free hand around as she goes on and on about how much she's missed her "_Tiffanella_".

"It's TIFFANY!" I hear Tiffany exclaim.

"Oh no darling, that name's far too boring for a daughter of mine. Tiffanella is so much more beautiful, it breathes potential and beauty and it would look so much better up in lights don't you think, Tiffanella?"

Gracie and I unfortunately don't get to hear Tiffany's comment to this, because the group exits the station, and the Potters join us.

"Gracie!" Mrs. Potter physically runs across the station with her husband, son, and Sirius in tow.

"Auntie Heather! Uncle Dan!" Gracie meets them halfway, receiving them far more enthusiastically then she did when she was last staying with them.

Gracie's aunt and uncle take turns hugging their niece. James steals a very quick look at me and I'm happy to see that his left cheek is still a wonderful rosy shade of pink. Sirius silently applauds, a look of admiration on his face. I pretend not to notice, but James glares at him and he stops.

"Oh and you brought Lily too, wonderful!" His mother smiles genuinely, embracing me as if I were her own daughter. She pats my hair and I hear her whisper confidentially in my ear. "Lily, your hair's looking a little green." I blush remembering that I hadn't been able to completely reverse Alice's payback spell. She takes out her wand when the others aren't looking and kindly removes the remaining dye with a flick of her wrist. I touch my natural hair and smile.

"Thank you Mrs. Pot-"

"Heather," she corrects me, winking.

She grabs Gracie, wrapping an arm around her. The other falls around my shoulders. I look from a laughing Gracie and Heather, to Mr. Potter and the two boys eagerly giving him the play by play of the recent match verse Hufflepuff (Gryffindor slaughtered them, largely thanks to Gracie and James). Guilt twists my stomach as I wonder if I might actually enjoy this Christmas, despite the absence of my parents.

Heather leads us out to a car, I didn't know that wizards had cars, and we all get in. I quickly realize that this car is nothing like it appears, and is certainly not muggle. Mr. Potter, who wishes for me to call him Dan now, is playing with a few buttons and knobs on a panel next to the door and suddenly we're off flying over the traffic, squeezing through houses and trucks, and running stop lights. Needless to say I'm gripping both James and Gracie's arms by the end of it and I'm more than happy to run out of the car when we finally arrive at the house ten minutes later. (It felt like hours) Mr. Potter taps the car with his wand and it zips away, disappearing with a pop. Gracie, James and Sirius lazily join me, looking rather amused.

"What's wrong Lily? Did you get a little car sick? Or was it that you couldn't resist an excuse to touch the irresistible Potter?" James smirks.

I glare at him, but it's Gracie, still rubbing her arm where I practically cut off her circulation that comes to my defense.

"James, get a grip, Lily was trying to cut our blood supply off. She was trying to kill you not come onto you, honey. She grabbed me by mistake I'm sure." She pats James's arm sympathetically and he shrugs her off and stomps into the house.

Sirius and I laugh.

"Muggle cars don't act like that I take it?" Gracie asks me, smiling slightly as we follow him into the dining room where the Potters already have dinner set up for us.

"No," I shake my head. If only they knew that you were supposed to stop at red lights and in the muggle world you can't squeeze through cars, you hit them and die. I shudder as I take a seat next to Gracie, across from James, reminding myself never to get into a wizarding car, under ANY circumstance.

Dinner's a pleasant surprise, the food's excellent, and Dan and Heather out do themselves making me feel right at home. They both ask me about school and stuff and encourage me to partake in several of their conversations. I feel like I'm an old family friend, or a niece, by the time the delicious treacle tart arrives.

Gracie finishes her dessert and goes up to her room to unpack. Hastily, I try to finish my treacle tart, which I was unable to eat since I was laughing at one of Dan's jokes.

Someone kicks me under the table. I choke, dropping my fork with a loud clatter. Mysteriously it slips off my plate and even though I swear I caught it, it slides through my hands and lands somewhere under the table. My reflexes aren't the best in the world.

Forgetting table manners entirely, and the fact that both Dan and Heather are legal magic using adults and could easily use their wands, I climb under the table in search of my missing fork.

James's face greets mine and I sit up so fast that my head bangs into the table.

"Ow," I whisper, scowling as he holds up the fork that I was searching for.

"Meet me upstairs in two minutes, we have to tell you something," he says so softly that I know no one but me can hear it. I would've told him "no way" right then and there, but he said _we_ not _I. _Reluctantly I give a short nod, before crawling out from under the table and taking my seat again.

Dan and Heather give us a curious look, as I drop the dirty fork in Gracie's empty dish and James reappears at the seat across from me. I realize that there's a second clean fork and blush in embarrassment. Way to make a fool out of yourself, Lily.

"Er, I'm muggleborn," I mumble.

Quickly I eat the rest of my treacle tart and excuse myself. I hear James do the same behind me, and Sirius…

"You're eating me out of house and home," James complains, pulling him out of his seat. Sirius still manages to stuff helping number four of Treacle Tart into his mouth before following James and I up the steps with a mouth full of food.

"What'd you kick me for, that hurt you know!" I hiss, running up the steps after James.

"Oh please Evans, stop whining, you've done worse to me plenty of times," James snaps.

"Yeah, but you deserved it every time. I've done nothing to deserve that kind of assault on my sensitive shin!" I protest, following James off the steps and down a hallway that looks all too familiar.

"Oh you've done enough, trust me Evans, you're far from innocent after everything you put me through," he mutters, stopping in front of a closed room. I don't ask what he means, because as soon as he opens the door, a wave of memories slaps me in the face.

"_Why," I gritted my teeth and wrapped my cloak around me and the dumb dress, "are you still staring at me?" _

"_I can't help it, I've never met anyone more beautiful."_

Soaking wet from the funeral we came here and sat in the dark and the quiet. Sirius throws himself down on the couch, and James sits down beside him.

"_I just wanted to thank you,"_

"_Thank me?"_

I shut the door softly behind me as I step into the room.

"_You don't believe me? I'll prove it to you right now Evans. You're going to witness a miracle right before your very beautiful green eyes." _

I can recall how close we were, how I closed my eyes and leaned back against the door and let his hands do the work. I shake the memories from my head, but I grin, remembering how convinced Potter was that he would be Head Boy and would win our bet. I'd forgotten about that. I perch myself on the arm rest closest to Sirius, don't want to give Potter any ideas, and turn expectantly to them.

"What'd you kick me for?" I demand again, hoping that this isn't some silly ruse to use Sirius as a way to get me to go out with Potter, because it won't work, trust me.

"What'd Remus want to talk to you about?" Sirius asks, barely suppressing a grin as he watches James suddenly lean forward. His intense hazel eyes move to me and lock.

"Erm," I think about lying but decide to tell them the truth. "He wanted to warn me that Gracie was going to do something incredibly dumb because of something Ophelia said to her."

"Oh," James sits back in the couch, lowering his eyes.

"See! I told you so!" Sirius turns to James with a triumphant grin. James frowns, but says nothing.

"So, you know then what she's planning to do?" James inquires, closing his eyes.

"No."

"What?" His eyes flutter open and Sirius looks at me incredulously.

"I don't know because _someone_ interrupted us before he could tell me." I narrow my eyes and look at James.

"You didn't." Sirius's eyes flick to James, and he groans, realizing that James did exactly that. "Now we have to explain it to her," Sirius grumbles.

James sighs and pushes Sirius over so that a space is cleared on the couch beside him where I can sit. I eye him suspiciously, but hop off the arm rest and sit down next to him.

"Look Lily, while they were waiting for you after the prefect meeting Ophelia started talking about how she went to Gracie's parent's funeral."

"Why would they be talking about a funeral?" Who talks about funerals?

"Lily, it's Ophelia, she's nutters," Sirius pipes up.

"As I was saying, Ophelia mentioned that fact that she made a very unusual observation concerning Gracie's mother."

The familiar sinking feeling returns and I look up at James with wide eyes. My breath hitches in my throat and I grab at James's hands in a weak attempt to keep myself calm.

"What's Gracie going to do?" I ask in a hushed voice that sounds far away and faint.

James looks at me, his eyes looking as distant as his voice.

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

There are a lot of things that I wish I didn't know. Ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately I think it's too late now to deny me information. Once you discover that your best friend's family's been brutally murdered for no particular reason, and there have been others, there's not much else that can scare you. I took the plunge the day I opened that letter, the day that the Serial Killers arrived, the last day I saw my parents, the day that I held onto James as the world crumbled around us.

"Try me," I challenge.

"Fine," James leans toward me and whispers in my ear. It's ridiculous, unbelieveable, something that would be published in Ophelia's fiancé's beloved Quibbler, no doubt. But not something that I can see someone actually taking seriously, or let alone acting upon it.

"Gracie doesn't actually believe that, does she?" I ask weakly, but I know after seeing her that fateful day that Gracie does. Maybe I would if our situations were reversed. Quickly I change tactics.

"She couldn't actually…"

James smiles sadly and Sirius shakes his head as if I'm an idiot.

"Lily, look out the window." James takes my hand, and drags me over to the window. He pulls aside the curtain, and I look, and see, far away, barely noticeable, but definitely there…

"Oh, God!"

I run out of the room, down the hall, and stop outside her bedroom. I throw open the door, nearly flattening Gracie in the process. Gracie grabs the door inches before it smashes into her face. She looks at me startled and confused. The confusion fades along with the shock, and an amused smile spreads across her face.

"Remus told you?" she asks laughing.

"He tried to." I step inside the room and she shuts and locks the door behind me.

"James?"

I nod.

"I figured one of them would," she sighs, flopping down on the bed.

I fold my arms over my chest, eyeing her warily. Gracie pretends not to notice, picking up a copy of Witch Weekly and flipping through it.

"You're not really, you aren't going to…" I stammer.

Gracie's smile returns, daring me to continue.

"You wouldn't…"

She lifts her head defiantly, her blue eyes conveying the message clearly.

"Want to come along?" she quips.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I roar.

"I'll take that as a no," Gracie says dryly, turning back to Witch Weekly.

"You're joking, right?" I ask hoping that my ears deceived me and that she did not just that we, she can't, she can't actually think that I would go with her down there, no, it had to be my imagination.

"No, Sirius insists that I don't have a sense of humor." Gracie frowns, but I'm not about to let her change the subject.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MARBLES?"

"Maybe, but I'm still going, with or without you."

"When?" I ask.

"Tonight obviously."

"You're insane!" I back out of the room, wondering if she's still the same Grace Adams that I'm best friends with or if she's being inhabited by the same alien that took over James's body a few months ago. Because certainly, I mean it's crazy!

"So are you, since you're coming!" she calls after me even as I hurry back to the guestroom that's been arranged for me again.

"No way!" I shake my head. Never, I'm never ever going down there, not unless I'm dead.

"I'll come by later, wear something warm, we wouldn't want to freeze to _death_!" she laughs.

I slam the door shut and lean againstit,still shuddering. A few doors down I hear her do the same.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Any constructive criticism will be appreciated. Next up... some answers.**


	14. Open Sesame

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_I highly doubt anyone's been crazy enough to try this in an L/J fanfic before. _

**Chapter 13: Open Sesame**

Minutes, hours, days; I'm not sure how long I've been sitting here. I slid down until I felt the hardwood floor beneath me and there I stayed…until now. The door opens and I find myself lying on the floor, looking up at James.

"Sorry," he apologizes.

"Don't you knock?" I ask, irritably.

"Have you heard of a bed? Or maybe a chair?" he snorts.

"I happen to be very comfortable right here," I insist, closing my eyes and resting my hands on my chest.

"I'm sure my mother would appreciate the fact that you find no need to use the beautiful furniture in our house."

I lift an arm, lazily offering him my hand. He sloppily kisses it before rudely dropping it back onto my chest.

"Ew, that's disgusting James." I sit up, rubbing my hand in an attempt to rid my skin of his saliva. Merlin knows how many girls he's been swapping spit with since puberty. I could have half of Hogwarts germs on my hand right now, and if I happened to touch my face I could become deathly ill. Seriously!

"I do not have cooties," he retorts.

"Maybe you don't, but your past girlfriend's might've," I grumble, reminding myself to wash my hands at least one hundred times before I go to bed. Oh my god. What if he kissed McLaggen? GROSS!

"Gracie wanted me to get you," James reminds me.

"Oh, yeah," My heart sinks, remembering where Gracie's going tonight.

"Are you coming with us?"

No. But I plan on making sure that no one goes tonight. I have to stop her. I jump to my feet heading for Gracie's room.

"They're already downstairs," James informs me.

Right, I knew that. Just testing you. I redirect my path to the stairs, but James's voice stops me again.

"You're not intending to go out dressed like that, are you?"

I look down at my outfit. I'm wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt, the same thing that I wore on the train.

"Um, I don't think they'll care if I'm dressed up or not," I point out.

James holds up my cloak.

"Oh, thanks," I take it from him and reluctantly put it on.

We're not actually going, are we? I look around hoping that James's parents will notice that we're getting dressed to go out, and try to stop us.

"They're gone Lily, they went out to a Ministry Ball," he reads my mind.

"Oh."

Gracie must've been planning this thing for weeks. She knew they were going to go out this night, and she knew that it was within walking distance. There's one thing that she didn't count on though; me. I'm a force to be reckoned with. I plan on giving her a piece of my mind. I've always been the logical one and it's time I put a stop to this little adventure before Gracie's hopes get crushed, again. I can't watch her fall again.

Sirius and Gracie are waiting for us in the kitchen. They've been arguing about something, but Gracie's laughing and Sirius is grinning. All afternoon I've been in the guestroom, creating a convincing, persuasive argument in my mind. The words, which only moments before were on the tip of my tongue suddenly die on my lips when I see the look on Gracie's face. Her eyes are shining brightly with excitement. She's been anticipating this for weeks; plotting and dying to check it out. This is anyone's dream come true.

"Come on, let's go!" Gracie eagerly leads the way as if we're going on some sort of adventure.

I don't have the courage or the heart to stop her…yet.

I pretend that we are going on an adventure as the four of us silently step outside into the freezing cold air. There's no need for our wands, because a fat full moon lights the way. It's one of those nights that are so insanely bright that you swear it's daylight. Gracie couldn't have had better luck if she drank Felix Felicis.

Gracie and Sirius silently walk ahead of me exchanging an occasional excited, slightly insane, grin. They're both mental. I feel James brush my shoulder with his own as he falls into step beside me. I'm surprised because unlike Sirius and Gracie he's not grinning like a loon or looking like a mad scientist who's completely lost it.

I touch his wrist, drawing his hazel eyes to me. He looks at Gracie and Sirius, shaking his head and then leans close to my ear.

"This wasn't my idea," he whispers so only I can hear. "I don't like it."

I squeeze his hand in silent agreement, dropping it. While we both know that Gracie wants this more than anything, we're afraid she'll get hurt. She can't afford to be hurt again, there's only so much a recently orphaned sixteen year old can take.

The trees thin and the mouth of the path suddenly opens onto a gated creepy clearing. Taking a deep breath, I gather up my courage and face my best friend.

"You can't do this," I tell her firmly, deliberately turning my eyes away from the scene that seems right out of a muggle horror film.

"You're not my mother, Lily," Gracie laughs at the irony of this statement.

"Gracie this is not…right," I struggle and fail to find a word to explain the situation we're in right now. Gracie merely looks amused at my attempt and with a flick of her wand flattens the gate and enters the graveyard.

"I won't let you do this!" I say, stubbornly chasing after her. My voice reaches a strange pitch, but I don't care. Let's just get the hell out of here. I don't like this. I don't like this at all.

"Scared Lily?" Gracie asks, scathingly.

"NO!" But a part of me is terrified, but not because we're in a graveyard of all places but because of what Gracie's planning on doing.

"This is stupid!" I cry, grabbing her arm.

Gracie wrenches her arm from my grip so fast, that I nearly lose my balance. She turns angrily towards me, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. I force myself to meet her eyes with a steady gaze of my own even though a part of me wants to run and duck behind James.

"Listen to me Lily! You don't know a thing about stupidity or anything else for that matter! You've lived a sheltered life in the muggle world, oblivious to all that's been happening here, safe from the hands of a growing darkness," she hisses.

"Not by choice!" I protest.

"You're so naïve! Your parents are still alive! You were bawling your eyes out because your parents were SAVED!" she yells in my face.

Tears fill my eyes but I don't dare let them fall.

"Do you know how much I would give to be you? Do you know what it's like to lose someone close to you, let alone three? It's like losing a part of you, watching half of your body go numb, shrivel up and die. You go on as if…as if…you're a ghost, a mere shadow of who you used to be," she stops, breathing heavily and I notice tears sparkling in her own blue eyes. And that's when I see it, the determination. There's no stopping her, she HAS to do this.

Impulsively, I throw my arms around her; my best friend andmy sister.

"I'm sorry! I'm only looking out for you, you're my best friend and I don't want to see you get hurt again. I'm sorry," I blubber.

Gracie hugs me back, the anger fading.

"No, it's alright. I'd probably commit you to St. Mungos if the situation was reversed," she jokes as we pull away.

"I love you too Gracie," I say sarcastically, but I know she wouldn't commit me.

"You can turn back if you want," Gracie says hesitantly, nodding toward the entrance where the gate's sprung up again.

"No, I'm coming with you."

Gracie smiles and leads the way down the beaten path with me following. The cracked, crumbling tombstones rise up around us and I shiver. Some of these must've been here long before the Stone Age. It gets colder as the tombstones start sitting up straighter, their words clearer with dates within the last couple of centuries. It's hard not to think of all those muggle movies I used to watch with my sister as we walk through the graveyard. I stick close to Gracie's side, feeling James's warm breath close to my neck and listening to Sirius's steady footsteps, but I'm deathly afraid.

A marble building, glowing eerily in the bright light of the moon, rises up before us.

I gasp.

The mausoleum.

Who knows how many dead bodies are in there, and we're going to walk right in as if we own the stupid place. Oh dear, oh god, this is dumb. I hate Ophelia and her crazy ideas, it's all her fault! As we shuffle through the snow, the two torches on either side of the massive door suddenly spring to life. James steps past me and lays his hand on the door with Gracie. The door shudders and dissolves. Sirius grabs one of the lighted torches from the entrance, Gracie lights her wand and they disappear into the black opening of the tomb. I sway on my feet. There are dead bodies in there, several dead bodies. Not ghosts, bodies.

"Lily, let's go!" James urges.

I swallow my fear, lighting my wand before James drags me into the tomb after him. The door solidifies behind me, plunging us all into the suffocating darkness. Slowly, my eyes adjust to the flickering light of Sirius's torch, the moving light of Gracie's wand, and the quivering one from my own. I inhale, steadying my trembling hand.

I look around, noting that we haven't even entered the tomb, not really. The wide passage way that we're standing in suddenly drops off like a cliff's edge into a steep staircase. I thought in mausoleums the bodies were above ground but apparently in the magical world they make it ten times scarier by making you go underground.

At the bottom of the staircase is another door, smaller than the first, but equally frightening. Gracie and James both place their hands on it, and once again the door dissolves and solidifies behind me as it did before. The door opens onto another passage way, similar to the first, except that the ceiling's a lot lower and instead of a staircase at the end there are five doors waiting for us.

James lights his wand and heads toward the first one. Gracie goes to investigate the last one. Sirius goes to number four and I take door number three. The words are hard to make out, there's so much dust on it. I lift my hand to wipe the dust.

"NO!" Sirius shouts and James seizes my wrist in midair. Gracie looks terrified.

"Don't touch that, don't touch anything, okay?" James says, squeezing my wrist so hard that I won't forget. I squirm and he lets go, relief flooding his face.

"Why can't I touch anything?" I ask, following James as he clears the dust from the door that I was looking at.

"Because," Gracie answers, as she scrutinizes the fifth door again. "You don't have any magical blood in you."

"I'm a witch!" I remind them.

"Of course you are, but you're also a muggleborn," Gracie continues, running her hand lightly over the door.

"So?"

"Lily, James and Gracie are the only ones that can get through the doors. Their ancestors created this tomb with the intention that only people with their blood could get in. I probably have some of their blood, but I'm not taking any chances. If we were to touch anything in here, the results could be deadly," Sirius explains, patiently.

Gracie smiles gratefully at him, and continues trying to decipher the fifth door. James joins her and they have a brief discussion before making a decision.

Gracie flashes the light in our eyes.

"Come on, I think it's this way," she beckons to the fifth door.

"You _think_?" I squeak. What happens if we go down the wrong one? What happens if we get lost? Is it like a maze where we get lost in the catacombs, going round and round, deeper and deeper into the ground, never to surface? I need to lay off on the horror movies, seriously.

James and Gracie open the door again, and Sirius gives me a slight push when I hesitate. I recall the small tip that he just gave me and hurry after Gracie and James, sticking close to them like glue.

Gracie stops short and I bump into James. Sirius comes very close to lighting my hair on fire.

"Damn, this isn't it!" Gracie steps forward revealing a dead end and…

I scream.

James clamps a hand over my mouth, muffling the noise. Gracie and Sirius twist around fearfully, moving their light to find the source of my scare. The shadowy figure, which I mistook as a walking corpse, becomes a mere suit of armor in the light. I relax, and James removes his hand.

"No one's going to hear us, they're dead," I grumble, blushing in embarrassment. I carefully avoid the other's eyes but I can see Gracie and Sirius out of the corner of my eye, suppressing a laugh.

"Don't be so sure," James says softly, turning to go.

I steal a look over my shoulder, watching as the silent Knight falls back into the shadows and sinks into the darkness. What an unusual place for a suit of armor…

"Come on, Lily!" James calls. The light of his wand catches on the ruby sword hilt of the Knight. I tear my eyes from the sparkling rubies, hurrying after them.

"Let's try number two," Gracie suggests, picking a random number.

So we try number two.

The second tunnel's thick with cobwebs. I mean it was filled. It was disgusting how many cobwebs were in there. There were probably species of spiders in there that mankind thinks are extinct. They've been spinning webs in there for centuries, I swear. Gracie wrinkles her nose in disgust.

When James informs us that the writing's not even in English, but in runes, we were all more than happy to turn around.

"What's behind door number three?"

I felt like I was on a game show. It's a game of chance. You never know what might be waiting for you on the other side of the door. Perhaps there'd be money, perhaps there'd be a trip, perhaps there'd be a brand new car, or a bedroom set, or maybe some bodies, or perhaps…

"Turn around!"

Gracie wheels around, her blue eyes filled with fear and her face colorless. James runs back to reopen the door. Gracie pushes me in front of her, grabbing Sirius with her other hand. A low moan echoes through the chamber sending a chill down my spine. The three of us run for the open door, never looking back.

"Wh-what was that?" I pant, crouching down beside James to catch my breath.

"I have no idea." Gracie shivers, leaning back against the wall. "But I never want to hear that ever again."

We all shudder, the bone chilling moan echoing in our minds.

"Two more left, they have to be in one of them." Gracie looks less enthusiastic about investigating the last two tunnels now. It seems to have finally sunk in that this isn't an adventure.

Even so Gracie bravely leads the way through the fourth tunnel.

This one, unlike the others, actually has bodies. Hundreds and hundreds of bodies. This round room is entirely made out of marble and is the heart of mausoleum. Coffins line the walls bearing plaques of people long forgotten.

Our footsteps reverberate through the room as we cautiously enter. In awe, I survey the marble fixtures filled with elegant designs, occasionally catching my eye with flash of gold or a glittering jewel. Statues glare at us as we pass, and faceless creatures open their mouths in a silent, eternal song.

"This way," Gracie whispers, but her voice echoes over and over again.

I cross the room with Sirius, following James and Gracie to a statue of a lion. The lion surveys us with ruby eyes as we pass behind him and into one of the narrow passageways off of the circular marble room. The dates here are more recent, ranging from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century. At the very end, three black coffins stand apart from the rest. They sparkle and glow and I realize that it's because there's hardly any dust on them.

"This is it!" Gracie's voice quivers with excitement, slicing through the heavy air like a knife. The three of us join her around the middle one. Anxiety builds as we look from one to the other and then back down at the waiting coffin.

Gracie traces the letters, her hand shaking uncontrollably.

_Hope Adams_

_Loving Wife, Sister and Mother_

_1935 – 1976_

"Well," James watches Gracie expectantly and we wait impatiently.

"I'm not sure if I can," she whispers, recoiling. Doubt surfaces in her face for the first time. "Ophelia said thatit was empty,but what if it's not…" Her face flushes, unshed tears suddenly shining in her blue eyes. But she wants to know, she won't be able to rest if she doesn't know.

"I'll do it," I whisper.

Gracie, James and Sirius look up surprised and stunned, since I was the person who fought against coming here in the first place. To be honest with you, I don't know what I'm thinking. I only know that I have to be the one to do it, for Gracie.

"I think you better turn around, just in case," I tell her gently. Gracie nods, giving me a grateful look before turning her back on me. I watch as she folds her arms on her brother's coffin, burying her head in her hands.

I look up my eyes meeting James's.

"You better do the same."

James hesitates, but slowly joins Gracie, wrapping a comforting arm around her.

With trembling hands I try to find the latch. Sirius gently pushes my unsteady hand away, and picks them one by one with a strange looking piece of metal that looks oddly like a muggle paperclip.

When he finishes he looks to me. I can't believewe're actually going to do this.

"I'll push, you pull."

He nods and moves to the other side of the coffin, grabbing the lid as I begin to heave it open. Honestly, the weight of the thing, it's almost as if they're trying to keep the body from escaping. I mean really, it's not like it can get up and walk away. A minute later, Sirius has most of the lid off, and I realize that it's me who's going to get the first glimpse and discover the answer to the question Gracie's been dying to know.

"One more," Sirius pants.

I grit my teeth and give it a final shove. I hear Sirius pulling on the other side, and I know it's open. I peek inside, and immediately regret it. A white lumpy form, wrapped in many white blankets rests in the coffin. My stomach churns at the thought of the crumbling woman lying under all of that linen, and I sway on my feet. Sirius turns away sadly, laying a hand on Gracie's shoulder. I hear Gracie emit a sob and watch her crumble.

I grab the edge of the coffin, squeezing my eyes shut.

We shouldn't have come here.

Ophelia was wrong.

The coffin isn't empty.

Hope Adamsis dead.

The room blurs as I feel my own eyes feel with the damned tears. There's a corpse lying in front of me, not just any corpse, but one that's been lying here for almost three months, rotting and breeding maggots and it belongs to someone I knew. The floor moves, the room tips. Everything's spinning out of control. I'm so dizzy, my head's pounding. I cling to the coffin, leaning forward.

I choke and clamp a hand over my mouth. Oh no, I'm going to hurl. Swallowing hard, I try to steady my swaying body, by reaching out for the nearest thing.

My hand plunges into the fabric, sinking down through the layers and layers but never quite reaching the bottom or the thing that I'm dreading... the flesh, or, what's left of it. I recoil, but my hand upsets the fabric and for a split second…

A motionless bulging yellow eye looks up at me.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

I scream and scream and scream and scream...

I feel my eyes roll back into my head, consciousness slipping…

"_Lily_!"

And I fall.

* * *

**A/N**: So now you know what Gracie's plans were, what Ophelia said and that I've been watching way too many movies. I'll try to update soon. 


	15. A Deadly Discovery

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: _Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. Not me._ **

**Chapter 14: A Deadly Discovery**

_I fall to the floor screaming. Covering my head with my hands, I try to protect myself from the bombardment of china as he tips the cabinet with a twirl of his wand and the plates, dishes and figurines slide forward and shower upon me. The glass of the shattered cabinet slices into my skin, cutting open arteries and bleeding through my clothes. I feel the pain, in my arms, in my legs, and I see it in a reflection of the glass, in my eyes, in the blood drenching my clothes and pooling around me. _

"_Why are you doing this to me?" I gasp. _

_Two blood red eyes lean close to my own and I forget about the blood, the pain, the shattered cabinet, and Mark, Gracie and Chris. A cold bony finger lifts my chin and he scrutinizes my face with a chilling grin. _

"_Your brother Harry took something of mine and I want it back." _

_My eyes widen involuntarily. _

"_I d-d-don't know w-w-hat y-your talk-k-king ab-b-bout," I lie. My teeth chatter and I shiver because I know that it has nothing to do with the cold hand on my chin and has everything to do with the bath I'm taking in my own blood. _

"_Don't be scared Hope, I won't let you die." He strokes my cheek with a cold-blooded laugh._

"_I'm not afraid of dying!" I spit in his face, even as my hand reaches to stop the flow of blood from one of the wide wounds in my chest. _

"_That's what your husband told me," he whispers, leaning close to my ear. "Before I killed your son." _

_My blood runs cold and everything freezes over. _

"_Now tell me Hope, where did you hide it?" _

_I look down at a shard of glass, catching a glimpse of my black curling hair and two round brown eyes glazed over with pain and grief. My fingers curl around the edges, ignoring how it cuts open my fingers, and I hurl it toward his face. _

"Lily, stop it!" I recognize James's panicked voice, even as I fight with an invisible foe.

"What's the matter with her?" Sirius asks, worriedly.

"I think she's having a seizure!" Gracie gasps. "Sirius, don't touch her!"

My wildly swinging fist smashes into something. The spell is broken and I break free from the nightmare returning to the hard cold floor of the mausoleum. I stare up at the ceiling, looking up at the coffins stacked one on top of another, rising up toward the massive dome.

"OW! What the hell was that for!"

Sirius reels back clutching his face. James seizes my arms pinning them down on either side of my body. Gracie kneels down next to Sirius to see if he's all right.

I catch my breath, my breathing returning to normal and my heart rate slowing.

"James," I whisper as his worried hazel eyes look down at me once more.

"Hey." His warm palm smoothes the creases from my forehead, tenderly pushing my hair out of my eyes. "Are you okay?" he asks, softly.

I shut my eyes, remembering the coffin with the body, the bulging inhuman yellow eye, the shattered china, the pain, the blood, the cold, the sinister grin and the chilling red eyes. I feel his hand take mine, his thumb rubbing over the backs of my fingers. Slowly, I open my eyes again.

"I'm okay," I whisper, looking up into his hazel eyes.

"Good." James manages a weak smile as he offers me a hand. I take it and he helps me to my feet.

"All right, Lily?" Gracie inquires, concern shining in her terrified white face. I think about telling her about the yellow eye and the weird nightmarish vision that followed, but she clutches Sirius's arm as if she might fall herself. She just found her mother was dead, again, and my heart goes out to her.

"I'm fine," I lie, even as James's eyes bore into the back of my head. "I just got a scare and took a spill, that's all. I've been watching too many Muggle movies!" I joke, forcing a laugh. The other three just stare at me and I remember that I'm the only Muggleborn here and hastily clear my throat.

"So, what do you say we get the hell out of here?"

"I'm all for it!" James agrees, leading the way.

"Oh, come on James, I know you love it here. Secretly, you want to stay in this cold, dark chamber with the skeletons and ghosts of your ancestors," Sirius quips as we follow James out.

"Yeah," James says dryly. "It's been my life long dream." He rolls his eyes.

Gracie and James lift their left hands, placing them on the door at the same time. The door shudders like it did the first time at the entrance, but it doesn't dissolve. Instead it bursts into flames. I scream as Gracie, Sirius and James are lost in the hot white fire that consumes us all in a fiery inferno. The flames lick the hem of my cloak, crawling upwards, but strangely I feel no pain. The fire blinds me, even as I reach out for the others.

BANG!

I feel myself being thrown back from the door by an invisible force. I fall on my side, sliding across the marble floor of the circular room. Slowing down, I twist around and notice too late that someone else has become an unwilling participant in this demonstration of Newton's law.

"Sir—oof!"

Sirius smashes into me, but we finally stop sliding and skid to a halt. I stare up at the dome high above us watching as the flames turn to smoke and then into a mist that fades and disappears. I catch my breath for the second time. I'm breathing, that means that I didn't burn to death. Groaning, Sirius sits up. My head falls off his back and onto the floor.

"Ow!" I cry out.

"That's payback for punching me." He smiles smugly as I clutch my head.

I chuckle. I untangle myself and sit up beside him.

"Gracie? James?" I call their names, looking around.

"Present!" Gracie answers and James gives a half hearted, "Here." To my left, James sits up grumbling and cursing under his breath. He's rubbing one of his arms and grimacing, but otherwise looks unhurt. On the opposite side of the room Gracie stands brushing off her now dusty cloak. The black material is coated with dust and cobwebs thanks to a particularly old passageway off of the room that stopped her.

"What was that?" I ask, shakily getting to my feet.

"I don't know, but it was fun!" Sirius pipes up, grinning.

I stare at him as if he's suddenly grown antlers, though in the Wizarding World it's probably not that uncommon. I mean, I've been in the same class as Alice and Frank for coming up on six years, I've forgotten what was once strange after all the unusual accidents they had when their spells went off target or their potions spilled. As I was saying, he's gone mad.

"Sirius, we almost died," I explain to him, since he seems to have overlooked this fact entirely.

"I know, and it was awesome."

Obviously, this kid's never been on a roller coaster before.

"Let's do it again!" Sirius exclaims, excitedly.

And obviously, he needs to get his head checked. His priorities seem to be out of order.

"Er, let's not and say we did," I say, nervously turning to James for back up.

"Don't look at me!" James says, throwing up his arms in front of him. "I'm just the best friend, not his brain, but I appreciate the compliment…" his voice trails off suddenly, his face taking on a puzzled expression, that quickly changes to terror as his eyes widen to three times their normal size.

"LILY, SIRIUS LOOK OUT!" Gracie screams from the other side of the room.

Sirius and I turn around, only to find that the formerly motionless statue of the ruby-eyed lion has left its former post by the Adam's tomb. He bounds across the room, straight for where Sirius and I are standing. He opens its mouth in a roar, exposing a set of sharp marble fangs that I'm sure he will have no trouble sinking into our flash regardless of the fact that he's not a real lion and used to be a statue. He isn't supposed to move, but he's now ferociously running toward us with flashing ruby eyes and a loud, hungry roar.

"Holy sh-" Sirius swears, and I suddenly feel as if my legs have grown roots and embedded themselves deep under the floor of the mausoleum.

The lion leaps, his paws outstretched and its claws lengthening like flashing deadly swords coming out from behind a knight's shield.

"RUN!" James yells.

Sirius and I obey. I uproot myself, scrambling out of the lion's path and diving toward James. Sirius runs in the opposite direction. The lion pounces on the spot where Sirius and I were just standing only seconds ago. The floor cracks and crumbles, as his sharp claws fiercely close upon what should've been us. Angrily, he roars his disapproval of losing his midnight snack (though he couldn't technically _eat_ us…), and I hear him moving on, probably readying himself to make another turn and come back for us.

My foot slips and I unceremoniously fall on my face. I start to pick myself up and immediately discover what caught my foot. The lion created a hole in the floor and the cracks are spreading towards me. This time it's my whole leg that slips and drops. It never reaches the bottom but hangs suspended in the chilly air. I chance a glimpse over my shoulder as I fight to pull it out. Fearfully, I watch as the floor falls away into a black endless hole, and suddenly my other leg and my entire lower body is at the mercy of gravity as well. My stomach drops too, and it continues to fall as my hands and arms flail, desperately in search of something other than the slippery marble crumbling beneath my fingertips.

"Hang on, Lily!" I hear a familiar voice, and my heart leaps, but does a funny somersault and sinks. It's falling faster than London Bridges, reaching the same state as my bottomless stomach.

"No, James DON'T!" I scream, desperately hoping that he won't do what I think he's going to do.

Ignoring my protest, James foolishly crawls toward the edge on his stomach, doing exactly what I knew he would do. The marble beneath my elbows teeters and gives way. I scream as my fingers slip and instinctively reach for something to hold onto. James seizes my hand in both of his own.

Somewhere far away Gracie and Sirius are shouting and the cracks are widening the hole I fell into, but the only thing I see are James's large hazel eyes full of terror and fear. I watch as another large chunk beneath James trembles and melts into the hole, but he pulls back, still holding my hand tightly. Next time though, he won't be so lucky.

"James," I whisper.

He looks at me and I notice something in his eyes that I never took the time to notice before. Something strange, something foreign, something that causes my heart to flutter, which scares me even more than the dark bottomless pit, probably full of skeletons, that I'm about to fall into.

"Let go of me," I breathe.

"No," he refuses.

"LET GO!" I demand as a thunderous crack resounds through the room and I see the deadly jagged lines snaking towards him. I squirm and wriggle, but James hangs onto me.

"I'm sorry, Lily, I can't." James smiles sadly.

The floor beneath him suddenly plunges and our bond is broken.

"James," I whisper and watch helplessly as the dome shrinks, growing smaller and smaller even as the air becomes colder. I'm falling fast. Shutting my eyes tight, I pray for a painless death.

Let Gracie and Sirius be all right. And James, please, I'm begging you, let him live. I used to hate him, I used to wish at times that he would fall off a random cliff and die, but he's changed; he's different now. Honestly, he doesn't deserve to die anymore. Please, let him be okay, please…

I feel myself suddenly being lifted upward, high above everything else. Quick, painless, and now it's over. Everything's come to an end…

"Oomf!"

I open my eyes, looking down into the face of James Potter - the very first person I was hoping to see and yet at the same time the very last. I let my eyes flutter shut, laying my head back down on his chest. There's nothing I can do about it now, it's too late, we're already dead and it's my fault. I bury my face into the front of his cloak and start to cry.

"Sssshhh, Lily. It's okay, you're safe now," he reassures me. His arms go around me, one hand stroking my hair.

"Why'd you do that?" I ask him. "I told you to let go! You shouldn't have done that!" I pull away, glaring at his confused face.

"What?" James asks, lifting his head.

"If you had let go of me, like I asked you the first time-"

"ARE YOU TWO ALL RIGHT?" the familiar voice of my best friend interrupts me mid-rant. My heart starts pounding, realizing what this means.

I whip around and laugh joyfully. Grace Adams and Sirius Black are standing on the other side of the giant cavern the lion created, looking at us worriedly.

"I think so." James shoots a look at me.

"We're fine!" I answer, beaming before turning to James with a look of wonder. "James, how did you do it?"

"A levitation spell." James grins.

I laugh and tackle him in an unexpected hug. James wraps his arms around me holding me close and I inhale the familiar, soothing scent of his cloak.

"Oh, Lily," he whispers into my hair. "You didn't actually think I would let go of you, did you?" I shake my head, but shove my face deeper into his cloak. "I knew that the levitation spell was the only way, but I couldn't let go of you until that last second. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You know I would never let you go, don't you?" I nod, giving him a last squeeze before pulling away.

"You're crying," he points out.

"Because I'm happy," I chuckle softly, swiping at my streaming eyes. God, why do I have to be so emotional? What's this, like the hundredth time this week I've started to cry? Lily, you need to grow a backbone and get on some hormonal drugs.

"Come here." James reaches for my face, gently wiping away the tears. I reward him with a watery smile.

"ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE OKAY?" Sirius yells to us.

"YES!" James and I call back. "BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL, we can hear you fine," I add, laughing again.

"Good," Gracie sighs. "I was yelling myself hoarse." She sits down at the edge of the hole, as close as she can possibly get to us, I realize. Sirius sits down next to her and James and I scoot close to the edge of the hole that's separating us from our friends.

"Well," James starts, surveying the black hole dividing the room. "This is inconvenient, the room split in such a way that none of us can reach the door."

"So we're locked in?"

James nods.

"Great!" I say, sarcastically.

"Don't worry, Lily, it gets _better_." Sirius grins.

"Oh really?" I inquire, wondering how much _better_ it can get.

"The only one that can get us out of here has to have the blood," he explains.

So, basically it's all up to Heather, James's mom. And the chances of her searching for us in the family tomb are slim to none.

"Can't we levitate ourselves over there or something?" I ask, hopefully.

"Um…" Sirius and Gracie exchange a glance. "I don't think it'd be too bright of an idea," Gracie mumbles.

"Why not?" I demand, jumping to my feet and taking out my wand.

A roar thunders through the room and James grabs my hand, pulling me down beside him.

"Oh," I squeak eyeing the marble statue fearfully. The lion, now back to playing a semi-normal statue, watches us with its ruby eyes but remains frozen at its post. I would've imagined that I dreamed the whole thing, but the lion did just roar at us again, and instead of watching over Gracie's parents' tomb, it switched sides so it could be closer to us.

I gulp, sincerely hoping that that thing doesn't decide to move again.

"I take it we sort of upset him," I mumble.

"Yeah, I'd say so. Opening up a tomb isn't exactly honorable behavior toward our ancestors," Gracie remarks, dryly.

"Does that mean you can't get buried here?" I wonder aloud.

"Does it matter?" Gracie chuckles. "I don't think we'll care if we're dead. Besides it was you, a Muggleborn, and Sirius, definitely not of the Moon lineage, who opened it. Not one of our brightest ideas," she sighs.

I look down guiltily at my shoes. I'm surprised we're still alive after our reckless mistake, though, come to think of it, we probably won't be alive much longer, now that we're locked inside.

"How long do we have until your parents get home?" I ask James, nervously.

James shrugs. It doesn't matter. I think the family tomb would be the very last place they'd search, and if they did come looking for us here, I'd have to wonder if they were sane. It's not every day that the kids decide to play in the mausoleum.

"Can we send an owl to them?" I suggest, hopefully.

"Yeah, hang on, let me just go and check if we have one buried in here," James quips.

"Do you have a better idea?" I snap, blushing in embarrassment. Good thing there isn't much light in here.

"Actually…" James trails off, his eyes brightening. "I might."

He unbuttons his cloak and starts frantically searching his pockets. Sirius copies him, emptying out a mad assortment of dung bombs, melted candy and a…dog bone? Gracie wrinkles her nose at the mess in disgust.

"What's this for?" she asks, picking up the dog bone.

"Hey! I thought I buried that one a while ago." Sirius grabs it out of her hands, tucking it possessively into his pocket. He eyes Gracie suspiciously as if she's been the one taking his bones, which he keeps for Merlin only knows what reason.

"Whoa, down dog! I haven't been touching your saliva-covered bones." She throws her hands up in front of her face and backs off.

"Ah ha!" James stops rummaging through his pockets, holding up a slice of glass that appears to be a small mirror. Talk about vain. He's worse than Debby McLaggen and he's a male! If it weren't for the fact that he used to date females (I can't recall anything recent, but I'm sure he has…) and happens to be obsessed with me, I'd seriously wonder if he was gay. Then again, he's not very neat and his wardrobe and hair need some serious work, so scratch that theory.

"We're in luck!" Sirius pumps a fist into the air and Gracie looks at me, equally confused. We're all going to be saved by a mirror, apparently. I think they've lost their minds and Gracie agrees with me, I can tell.

"Is that a mirror?" Gracie asks James, eyeing both boys warily.

"No, Gracie. It's just something that looks like a mirror." James rolls his eyes.

Darn. My eyes weren't deceiving me. They really did lose it.

"Remus!" James shouts.

And now they think they see Remus. I exchange another look with my fellow sufferer and very slowly we scoot away from our crazy companions.

"Remus!" Sirius echoes and James starts yelling again.

"Moony, wake up, you dolt!"

"Get off your lazy arse and answer the mirror!"

They think Remus is in the mirror, they seriously do. I look at Gracie again. I'm comforted to find out that I'm not the only one who's frightened by their behavior. I clear my throat meaningfully, turning toward James who's now swearing at the mirror.

"James, I don't think-"

Sirius waves a hand, silencing me.

"He can't hear with you talking."

"He's not going to hear anything!" I protest.

"Because you're blabbing."

"Because no one's in the mirror!"

"She's right mate," James sighs, ending our argument.

"What?" Sirius asks, incredulously. "Let me see that, I'll make sure he never screens his calls again!" He makes a lunge for the stupid mirror. Luckily, Gracie sticks out an arm, yanking him back, before he has the option of checking out the big black hole that he obviously forgot about.

"Down boy," she commands. Sirius growls but grudgingly sits back down. "Sit, good boy." Gracie pats his head and then turns to James as if just realizing something.

"Is that how you talk to each other?" she asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about," James says innocently, tucking the mirror out of sight.

"It is, isn't it? I knew it! Sirius usually has the other one, right? But you gave it to Remus and now you're going to tell him that we're stuck and he'll owl Auntie Heather and we'll be saved!" She grins and laughs in relief.

It all makes sense. Two mirrors, to connect James and Sirius, two people that seem to share a brain. It's a stroke of genius and it explains many incidents that were shrouded in a veil of mystery up until now.

"REMUS!" I shout at James, hoping that Remus in the mirror will hear me.

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN GET YOUR FACE OVER HERE, BEFORE I HURT YOU!" Gracie threatens at the top of her lungs.

If the dead aren't awake yet, they are now.

"SHUT UP!" James yells over her, and this time it's Sirius who has to hold Gracie back before she falls into the Grand Canyon.

"Stay, good girl," Sirius imitates Gracie, with a smirk. He reaches out a hand, but instead of patting her on the head, he pets her. Gracie doesn't like this at all.

"Pet me again, Black, and I will lock you in one of these coffins and never let you out."

Needless to say, Sirius gets the message and keeps his hands to himself.

"He's not there," James says, mournfully.

"WHAT!" I scream, scrambling for the mirror. I put my hands on Potter's chest, knocking him to the ground. We wrestle, and I try to feel him up—in search of the mirror, of course.

"Not here, Lily, Gracie and Sirius are watching." He winks, as he easily pins my arms at my sides.

"You have a perverted mind!" I hiss, wriggling in his hold.

Sirius suddenly groans, and both of us stop and turn. I sit up, smoothing down my hair and shoot Potter a disgusted look. Sirius looks as if he's on the verge of death.

"What's the matter?" Gracie asks, resting a hand on his shoulder, her face filled with concern. Sirius shakes her off, lying down on his back.

"It's a bloody full moon!" He hits the floor hard with his fist, and bites down on it, to stop the painful result of this stupid move.

"No kidding, what'd you think that bright thing out there was - the sun? Why do you think he's not answering?" James grumbles.

"But what does that have to do with Remus?" I ask, frowning.

"Yeah, it's not like he's out howling at the moon," Gracie laughs, but she's the only one that does.

Sirius and James pale and share a panicked look that doesn't go unnoticed. Gracie suddenly stops laughing, realization dawning, as she looks at me.

"Oh my god!" I gasp, clapping a hand over my mouth. Gracie's eyes widen.

"He's a werewolf, isn't he?" she asks softly, coming to the same conclusion that I did.

Sirius coughs, pretending as if he didn't hear her, and James looks down at his hands uncertainly.

"That would explain why he isn't answering…" I whisper.

"…and why he's at Hogwarts in the first place. He transforms there, doesn't he? He must…" Gracie trails off mumbling, and I continue.

"That's why he always gets sick once a month and his grandmother's died five times…" (lol!)

"And that explains why he couldn't come to my parent's funeral. It was a full moon!" she finishes, still looking a little stunned.

How come I never noticed before? There was even a whole page dedicated to him in our O.W.L. written exam. It was so obvious! I'm so stupid! I slap my forehead.

"Lily." James looks imploringly into my eyes. "Please, I know you hate me, but don't take it out on Remus even though you know he's a-"

I cut him off.

"First of all James, I don't care that Remus is a werewolf. It doesn't change anything, if at all it does, it will only make me admire him more. He has this problem and yet he's functioning, overcoming prejudices and proving himself to be one of the cleverest in Hogwarts. He's a prefect and a Marauder."

"Why don't you just snog him for Merlin's sake," James mumbles.

"Second of all, I don't hate you."

He looks up at me hopefully.

"I don't hate anyone," I clarify, and the eager puppy dog look quickly vanishes. "Especially not you," I whisper, but I don't think he hears me.

I sigh, pulling my knees to my chest.

"Why don't we try the door again?" Sirius suggests.

"Be my guest Sirius, but I never took you as suicidal," Gracie replies.

"I'm not talking about me idiot, I'm talking about you," Sirius snaps.

"Do you want to die, Black, because we already tried that once and you and Lily came very close to dying. In case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly welcome here," she points out.

"Neither are you."

"Yeah, thanks to your stupidity," Gracie grumbles.

"Whose idea was this in the first place?" Sirius sits up facing her.

I hold my breath and James and I look at each other before snapping back to Gracie. She stares at the floor, hiding her face behind midnight black hair. Instead of exploding or dissolving into tears, as I expected, she merely lifts her head and smirks.

"You were dumb enough to go along with it."

Sirius gapes at her.

"Me? I was merely looking out for you!"

Sirius, the reckless Marauder, was looking out for rule-abiding—well, sort of—Grace Adams. I snort, and James's mouth twitches as if suppressing a grin.

"Looking out for me? You were the one that almost fell into that hole!" Gracie giggles.

"I wouldn't have almost fallen into that hole if you hadn't been panicking," Sirius scoffs.

"I was not panicking!" she protests.

"Admit it! You were so sick with worry about the fate of your beloved Sirius Black that you shut down."

"Um, actually, no. My best friend Lily Evans happened to be on the verge of death, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Excuses, excuses." Sirius shakes his head making a tsk, tsk sound.

"I was hoping you'd fall in," Gracie mumbles, just loud enough for all of us, including Sirius, to hear.

"I'm hurt, I'm wounded, Gracie." Sirius clutches his heart and gasps for breath. He pretends to die, dropping his head ceremoniously into her lap. Gracie rolls her eyes and shoves the _dying_ Sirius off of her lap.

"Can we switch places, James? Lily? Please?" Gracie whines as Sirius, on the floor beside her, pretends to writhe in agony, acting out his final moments.

"Um, I don't think that's an option," I answer glumly, gesturing to the Grand Canyon. "We're kind of stuck like this, remember?" I remind her quietly.

"How could I forget?" Gracie sighs, staring down at her hands. Sirius gets bored with his dying act, and decides to resurrect himself. He makes a show of climbing back out of his grave, or at least that's what I'm assuming he's doing, and coming back to life. James doesn't laugh, and I don't find it funny, considering where we are at the moment.

"I'm alive!" Sirius shouts, dramatically. His voice echoes through the domed room and I shudder.

Gracie looks at Sirius. Sirius looks at Gracie. Sirius opens his arms up to Gracie, welcoming her.

"It's just you and me baby, and you're not going anywhere," he teases, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, still holding his arms open.

"And neither are you," Gracie purrs. She starts moving in on Sirius, like a tiger pouncing on its prey. But instead of allowing Sirius to suffocate her in a hug and smother her with kisses, she pulls out her wand and hurls a jet of purple light at him.

I blink as the light fades and clears from my vision. A wall now separates Gracie and Sirius. Gracie smirks, looking extremely smug as she waves to Sirius on the other side of her wall. A disappointed Sirius folds his arms over his chest and pouts. Gracie amuses herself by sticking her tongue out at him. How ironic, last time a wall separated the two of them, it was me who cast it and Gracie who was fighting to get to him and Sirius who was hoping that she would never cross the invisible line.

"There has to be some way we can get out of here." I watch Gracie and Sirius goofing off, but I address this comment to James.

"This is it, Lily." James opens up his hands, revealing the mirror. "But Remus, he'll be out for at least three days."

"I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you just tell me that we'll be stuck in here for three days, at the least?" I repeat, looking up and over at him.

"I'm afraid so." James grimaces and I groan wanting desperately to bang my head against something. I chose James's shoulder. Again, this could be very romantic, if it wasn't for the fact that once again I've been thrown into the arms of Hogwart's biggest pig, and locked in not just any old dark place, but a tomb full of bodies. Did I mention that I used to have nightmares about zombies as a kid? Why does my life have to be a living nightmare? Did I do something wrong in my past life?

Gracie and Sirius tire of the game quickly, neither one of them have long attention spans. Gracie's wall dissolves when she loses interest. Gracie yawns several times and curls up. Within a few minutes she's asleep and safe from the dead demons that surround us. Sirius wisely follows her lead and soon he's snuggled up to her, snoring softly. James is lying down beside me, his back to me, and I stare up at the great dome ceiling wondering if we'll ever get out of here.

I can't sleep though. As much as I try, I keep thinking of those sounds. When we went down that one doorway, there had been moaning and groaning. It still brings chills to my bones. And the eye, that yellow bulging eye, that couldn't have belonged to anything human. I shiver.

"Are you cold?" James asks, rolling over onto his side to face me. One look into his concerned hazel eyes and I feel a little warmer.

"No, I'm all right. Well, no, I'm not. We're stuck in a bloody mausoleum for three days with a bunch of dead people and a psycho statue that wants to kill me just because I'm Muggleborn, but I'm not cold, I guess, though I feel like - "

"Ssshh," James cuts me off, smoothing the hair back from my forehead like he did before. I move closer to him, loving the fact that he's human, familiar, cares about me, and happens to be very much alive.

"I'm scared," I admit.

"So am I," he breathes into my ear, stroking my hair soothingly. In times like these, James seems like a different person. I've temporarily forgotten about what he's really like, blinded by my fear and the need to hang onto something, someone, anyone.

"It'll be okay, Lily, I promise," James whispers, wrapping a comforting arm around me. I allow him to pull me to his chest without protest.

"I hope you're right, James," I sigh heavily, wishing that I could actually believe him.

"Me too."

And my eyes close.

* * *

**A/N**: _I'm leaving for a week or two but I promise when I get back I will update. I would like to thank my beta, the lovely Danielle for the time she took out of her busy schedule to clean up this chapter and several others. I will be posting the edited versions of many previous chaptersas soon as I get back. _


	16. Secrets Resurrected

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_It all belongs to J. K. Rowling. Anything that might cause you to question sanity is probably my idea._

**Chapter 15: Secrets Resurrected**

_I hurl my weapon, a mere shard of glass at the red-eyed face. It tears open the flesh and he cries out, momentarily taken aback by this attack. I scramble to my feet, but I'm losing too much blood. My adrenaline driven strength is zapped right out of me and I stumble and collapse long before he uses a spell to trap me in an invisible net._

"_Fun's over," he growls._

_I'm too weak to struggle or even lift my head. The escape only brought death a couple of breaths closer. _

"_Hope, silly Moon girl, you still haven't lost that bravery or the stupidity. Your brother pulled that trick on me too, don't you remember?" he cackles into my ear and I shut my eyes tight. "Stop fighting it, the pain will all be over in a few moments and you'll get to see Harry, won't that be nice, a Moon sibling reunion over 20 years in the making."_

_I drown out the sound of the dark, empty laughter, fighting back the flashing images of a child version of myself running up the stairs, running into that room, the one with the locked door. _

"_**Harry!" **_

"_You seem to have trouble opening up to me. What is it with you Moons?" _

"_I'll never tell!" I gasp with one final breath. _

"_Oh no you don't." A flick of the wand and suddenly, I'm breathing again. No! I don't want to be here! Let me die, let me go!_

"_Harry died on me; I won't be making that same mistake twice," he whispers. "You know there are some things… that are far, far worse than death."_

"Death to you!" Gracie giggles.

"No Ms. Adams, you are fatally mistaken, because it is you who's going to be doing the dying!" Sirius answers smugly.

Groggily, I open my eyes wondering if perhaps, maybe, this was all some kind of warped nightmare and that I'd wake up back at my bed at home. No chance, a domed ceiling greets my sleepy eyes. Still trapped in the mausoleum, I see. I prop myself up on my elbows, taking in the sight before me.

The floor is littered with various objects that they emptied once again from their pockets. Gracie and Sirius are sitting across from each other each holding a hand of unusual-looking cards. After watching them for a couple of minutes, I realize that they're playing an old Wizarding card game, a favorite of Tiffany's, called Death Trap. Very appropriate for the situation we're in now, though kind of creepy if you ask me.

"What time is it?" I ask James, who's sitting up beside me, watching them, while turning the mirror over and over in his hands.

James lifts his wrist, studying his watch.

"It's about five in the morning."

Slowly, I sit up.

"That was a malignant error!" Gracie laughs, looking at the card that Sirius just put down.

"Oh, yeah? I'd like to see you try and climb out of this grave!" Sirius challenges her.

"How long have they been at this?" I wonder.

"Since four I think, maybe earlier." James fiddles with the mirror, slipping it into his pocket and then taking it back out.

I raise an eyebrow, wondering how they can be so lively at this ungodly hour.

"Second wind, I guess," James chuckles, clearly reading the look on my face.

Gracie's face splits into a grin that I've seen several times before she announces she's kicked our arse. She's very competitive, and only Tiffany seems to be able to beat her at the game (which is why she likes it so much, because Gracie losing at anything is something extremely rare). That's why Alice and I stopped playing with them.

"HA!" Gracie slaps down a card on the floor, trumping Sirius's best card. Sirius blinks, stunned that he just lost.

The goblet that had been sitting to the side of the empty card box suddenly fills up with a horrible, fiery, disgusting green liquid that tastes so horrible that you swear you're dead for an instant. Several coins fly out of various places from Sirius's cloak and hover in mid-air along side the goblet, offering him a choice. Either way he'll end up a loser. This is the real reason why Alice and I quit playing. It was either drink slug shit or be robbed.

"I win! I win! You're trapped with no way out. Your life is now in my hands!" Gracie does a little dance in place, pumping her fists into the air and bobbing her head. Sirius stares at the cards in disbelief.

"So Mr. Black, what'll it be, poison or extortion?" Gracie laces her fingers together, resting her chin on her hands.

"Give me the cup of death, Ms. Adams," Sirius finally decides mournfully.

"Any last words?" she teases.

"This isn't the last you'll see of the almighty Sirius Black!" Sirius exclaims in theatric voice.

Gracie giggles and hands over the cup. Sirius holds his nose, and drinks the whole thing in one gulp. He grimaces, handing the now empty goblet back to a grinning Gracie.

"Rematch?" he asks immediately.

"You're brave, Black, but I happen to like kicking your arse." Gracie smugly deals out the cards for another game.

"_Hello?" _

I turn my head at the sound of a faint voice. I glance at James, but he's staring off into space and the voice sounded almost muffled, and too high, almost girlish if I wasn't mistaken. I must be hearing things…

"You wait, this time I'm going to give you a taste of your own poison."

"We'll see."

"_HELLO?"_ I hear someone shout distantly once more along with the sound of barely audible tapping, as if on a window… or any type of glass, such as a mirror, perhaps?

"James?" I ask tentatively. He's lost in space and for the moment, not responding, but he's holding the mirror loosely in his left hand. I take his hand and gently open it, taking the small mirror into my own. I close his fingers, and replace his hand, allowing him to continue with his thoughts undisturbed.

I examine the mirror closely, but it appears to be empty.

"Hello?" I whisper hopefully.

I feel stupid talking to a mirror, though in the Wizarding World they do talk back. I almost went into cardiac arrest the first time it happened. Gracie practically peed herself laughing, until I explained to her and the others that in the Muggle World hearing voices in a mirror is a sign of insanity. Unfortunately, I hear nothing and see nothing, not even my reflection. My breath fogs the glass and I lower it, disappointed once again.

"We're never going to get out of here," I sigh.

"_REVEALO!" _

Alarmed, I look down at the mirror. My eyes widen. Something's definitely in the mirror now. I see flashes of colors, red, gold, a glimpse of fire and then a woven rug, which I recognize as the one in the Gryffindor Common Room. Someone must've dropped it onto the floor!

"James!" I gasp, tugging on his arm. "James, come look at this!"

In awe I watch as the scene in the mirror spins, and then suddenly instead of the rug, it's the ceiling of the Gryffindor Common Room that I'm looking at, as if someone flipped it over.

"Lily? Hey, what are you doing with that?" He frowns, looking over my shoulder.

"Look!" I squeal, holding up the mirror for him to see.

"HEY! HEY MOONY!" James yells at the mirror excitedly.

The end of a wand pokes at the mirror, and a few orange sparks emit from its smoky tip. The room flips over again, but once again we're looking up at the ceiling of what's undoubtedly our beloved common room.

"REMUS!" I shout, rapping smartly on the glass.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS!" a voice answers, one that does not belong to Remus, but still one that I recognize instantly. I hold my breath, and a moment later a familiar face appears on the other side of the mirror.

"TIFFANY!" I shriek. Never in all my life have I been happier to see her. "Tiffany, it's me!" I wave frantically at the smaller version of her face, currently filling the glass.

Her eyes widen.

"Lily?" she gasps. Her eyes flick to the side. "James?" Her jaw drops as her eyes move between him and me.

"But…how?" she stammers.

"It's a two-way mirror, you have Sirius's and we have James's," I explain, though I'm still not exactly sure how it got to be that way.

"Where are you? You're not stuck in the mirror…" Tiffany trails off, confusion clouding her face.

"No, but we are stuck," James says.

"What do you mean _stuck_?" Tiffany asks suspiciously, as if she knows that it's bad. James and I exchange an uneasy look, one that Tiffany doesn't miss. I hear her sigh heavily as if we willingly got ourselves into this mess, which is inevitably going to come to rest upon her shoulders. "Where are you?" she asks tiredly.

"We—er—kind of got trapped inside a mausoleum," I mumble.

"You're inside a WHAT?" Tiffany asks, cleaning out her ear and leaning closer to the glass. I get a close up of her ear and one side of her face. Her eye, I notice is slightly bloodshot and rather puffy and pink around the lids. Has she been crying? Wait - didn't she go to her mother's? What was she doing in the Gryffindor Common Room, with Remus's mirror, at five in the morning when she was supposed to be at her mother's?

"We're inside a Mausoleum," James repeats more clearly. "You know, the big marble tomb where hundreds of dead people can be buried."

"I know what it is," Tiffany says in a far away voice. She seems to lose her trace of thought, as if she's forgotten we're even there. She shakes her head, coming back to us. "What are you two doing in there?" she asks, blinking, as if she's still not sure that she knows what we said, or where she is for that matter.

"We're not alone," I tell her.

"Obviously; they pack 'em in there like sardines," Tiffany says with a taste of her old humor, which for some reason makes her sober extremely quickly, rather than giggle as she normally would in this situation.

"I'm not talking about them." I shudder involuntarily, looking around. "I meant Gracie and Sirius are with us, too."

"Gracie…Sirius?" Tiffany seems to have trouble placing the names as if she wasn't really listening to me. She seems to have got lost again.

Hearing their names, Gracie and Sirius, who have abandoned their intense game of Death Trap, call out to her, grin and wave. I hold up the mirror so that she can see them. Tiffany doesn't respond, perhaps stunned by the situation.

"Tiffany?" She's acting so strange, this isn't like Tiffany, but then again it's five in the morning. I can't blame her… and it must be hard to swallow the fact that your four friends trapped themselves in a tomb.

"Tiffany, stay with us!" James jokes and he snaps his fingers.

Tiffany snaps out of it. She glares at the mirror, a scowl crossing her face.

"You're telling me that all four of you are stuck in a mausoleum?" James and I nod. "Is this some sort of sick joke?" she snarls.

"No!" I say exasperatedly.

"I swear we're telling the truth!" James swears.

Tiffany raises an eyebrow and snorts. Next to Sirius, James is about the last person I would expect to tell the truth, and the most likely to pull a joke like this on someone. Not a wise move, James. I shoot him a glare, before turning back to Tiffany.

"Is Remus with you, too?" Tiffany asks skeptically.

"No."

"What about Peter? How about Frank and Alice? And why don't you just throw in ol' McLaggen for Merlin's sake! Party in the tomb!" Tiffany exclaims hysterically and I notice that it isn't the firelight playing tricks on her face, but real tears that are streaming down her cheeks.

"No, Tiff, this isn't a joke, believe me!" James begs.

"Don't you 'Tiff' me, Potter! I've got better things to do than becoming your latest prank," she says scathingly and her face suddenly disappears from the mirror.

"TIFFANY!" I scream. "Just listen to me! We need you to owl James's mom and tell her that we're stuck in the tomb! PLEASE! We're going to die down here! YOU HAVE TO OWL JAMES'S PARENTS! Please. Please Tiffany…"

The mirror goes black and a moment later it's just another piece of glass. My breath fogs the glass, I rub it but it remains empty and colorless, void of any reflection of either side. I stare determinedly at the empty mirror, willing her back. My eyes burn with the effort, a strange lump rising in my throat. Something wet slides down my face, dropping onto the mirror. I wipe it clean with the palm of my hand, but another teardrop lands on the mirror, and another and another.

"She's gone," I whisper, my voice breaking.

I feel James's large hand on my back, moving in slow circles. I lean back, resting my head on his shoulder. James's arm encircles my shoulders, alternatively rubbing my back. I let him keep his arm there because I'm cold…yeah…that's it, only because I'm cold.

"Damn her!" Sirius hisses. Gracie clutches her knees to her chest, tracing a pattern in the floor. Sirius looks at her and then leaps to his feet pacing the room. I watch him through half closed eyes as he makes tight circles around and around the place where Gracie sits. Finally he stops.

"I have a brilliant plan!" he announces happily.

"You do?" Gracie asks in disbelief.

"Yep," Sirius nods and plops down close beside her. "As soon as we get back, we're going to kill her."

James groans.

"There's only one thing wrong with your 'brilliant' plan. We'll be dead, you dimwit," Gracie points out.

Sirius obviously didn't take that into consideration when constructing his "brilliant" plan.

"So? We'll be ghosts… and we'll, um, scare her or bribe Peeves to throw a suit of armor at her, or drop a chandelier on her…" He trails off, seeing as everyone's stopped listening. "Or we could just sit here and rot…there's always the guilt suicide trip thing," he sighs in defeat.

"We're going to die!" I moan.

"No, no we're not," James whispers soothingly, running his hand up and down my arm (only because I'm cold). "Remus will be back in two days, and if Tiffany found the mirror in the common room then someone's bound to come across it."

"Wait, Tiffany found it in the common room?" Gracie speaks up.

I nod.

"But she's staying with her mother…" She frowns and looks at me.

"That's what I thought, but she was there in the Gryffindor Common Room."

It doesn't make sense. What was she doing at Hogwarts instead of her mother's and why was she crying? And she didn't seem herself, she kept zoning out…

"Only forty-eight more hours," James says optimistically.

"Actually it's more like sixty, maybe more considering it will take Moony longer to recover since we're here and not there to help him transf—" Sirius stops abruptly, and I notice James giving him a wide-eyed warning look.

"Why? Are you like his support group or something?" Gracie asks curiously, obviously noticing the silent exchange between the two boys as well.

"Kind of," Sirius mumbles. His lips twitch as if suppressing a grin when he meets James's eyes.

"We're his best friends. Of course we're his biggest fans," James elaborates, but I could've sworn there was a mischievous glint in his hazel eyes. They're definitely not telling us something.

"How dare her!" Sirius says suddenly out of the blue. "She interrupted our game, I was about to win and she made us mess everything up! Just wait till I get my hands on her…"

"You were not winning!" Gracie protests.

"I was too!" Sirius insists.

"You were NOT!"

"You know I was going to win, you just don't want to admit that I bested you at your favorite game." Sirius puffs out his chest.

"I can see this is going nowhere," Gracie sighs.

"There's only one way to settle this; we'll have to start another game." Sirius deals out the cards again.

"I beat you six times already, give it up, Sirius."

"Never."

"Fine," Gracie accepts the cards, seeing as Sirius is never going to give up on the stupid game. "Good thing I like winning."

They start another round of Death Trap, which Gracie will probably win again. I don't know much about Sirius's card skills, but I think he might be letting Gracie win. Then again, his attention span is much shorter than Gracie's, and he's easily distracted. He spends more time studying Gracie than the cards, and I thought James was bad. Sirius doesn't seem to realize that he's doing it, kind of like me leaning into James… Wait, backtrack. I look slowly to my left.

James's arm is still around my shoulders and I'm still leaning on his chest, fifteen minutes after he originally comforted me. What's wrong with me? I was cold, or at least I thought I was cold, for about a millisecond. I forgot that his arm was there and that I happened to be breaking all the Personal-Contact, Respect-Other-People's-Space rules. Discreetly, I lift my head off his shoulder and slide out from under his arm as if it was nothing, just two people sharing body heat because they had the illusion that they were cold. It's perfectly normal. Doesn't mean I like snuggling up to Potter or anything, just animal instincts. Wait, no, that sounds wrong.

"Thanks for your arm," I thank him stiffly.

James looks at me funny.

"I'm warm now."

A light goes on in his eyes.

"I mean I'm not cold anymore," I hastily correct myself.

"Er—you're welcome?" James looks amused. I turn away so he doesn't notice how my cheeks take on an unbecoming shade of pink.

You're an idiot, Lily.

I spend the next half hour trying to avoid looking, or touching Potter in anyway, which is rather difficult, considering the Fates seem to have found it extremely amusing to strand us on our own little island in the heart of an underground tomb. Enviously, I watch Gracie and Sirius, who got a much larger and spacious portion of the room, and just so _happened_ to have a whole Death Trap game in their pockets. Why? I don't know. They're just lucky or crazy I guess. Not that I would want to play Death Trap with Potter. First of all, I hate the game, and second of all, he'd probably cheat.

"What time is it?" Gracie asks James after she beats Sirius for the ninth time in a row and Sirius finished his eighth cup of slug shit.

"Five fifty-two," James answers, glancing at his wristwatch.

I do some quick mental math in my head.

"Only fifty-nine hours and twenty-seven minutes left."

"Great, plenty of time to catch up with the family," James says sarcastically, looking around at the coffins that surround us.

"I think visiting hours are long past over," Sirius snickers.

Five minutes later, Gracie and Sirius have tired of their card game and are once again bored.

"What time is it?" Sirius asks.

"Five fifty-seven," James informs us.

Another minute goes by.

"What time is it now?"

"Five fifty-eight, exactly one minute later."

"What time is it…now?" he asks James again.

"Five fifty-eight and fourteen seconds."

"I'm bored!" he whines.

"I couldn't tell," Gracie mutters sarcastically.

"I think we all are," James chimes in. "There isn't much to do here," he observes.

"Wow, I wonder why," I grumble. "Maybe it's because the majority of the population happens to be dead!" I roll my eyes.

"Soon to be _all_ of the population," Gracie adds under her breath.

We all pretend like we didn't hear her, even though we did.

"What about…now?" Sirius asks.

"I'm still bored," James replies, stifling a yawn of boredom.

"No, I mean the time, you dolt."

"What do you need the time for?" James asks Sirius, rolling up his sleeve again to look at his watch.

"I have my reasons…" Sirius says secretly, meaning he doesn't have a logical reason for wanting the time. He's just beyond bored and doing everything in his power to annoy us all. Well, at least that's what it seems to mean, at least to me.

"Now come on, tell me what time it is," Sirius persuades James.

James sighs but reluctantly reads the watch.

"Five fifty-nine and thirty-nine seconds."

"And…now?"

"Five fifty-nine and forty-six seconds."

"And…what about…right…NOW!"

"FIVE FIFTY-NINE AND FIFTY-NINE SECONDS!" James bursts out in frustration.

"Nuh-uh, you're wrong. It's six now." Sirius grins.

_ROOOOOARRRRRRRR_!

All of us jump. Gracie and I scream. The lion must've gotten bored playing statues in the park, because now he runs at us, leaping over Death Valley and lunging toward me, again. I shriek and jump into James's lap. James rolls over, taking me with him. He covers my body with his own, shielding me from the lion's ruthless marble talons. I hear the sound of grinding marble and a weird cracking sound. The floor trembles violently beneath me. Blindly, I cling to James, praying for it all to end.

And it does.

Silence descends upon us like the delicate, noiseless snowflakes that blanketed the ground yesterday morning.

I crack open an eye but James's chest happens to be in my way. Oh no, I played the damsel in the distress again. I am a Gryffindor, not a simpering helpless Hufflepuff! This has got to stop! Though, come to think of it, I probably wouldn't have stood a chance if James hadn't got on top of me. Wow, that sounds wrong, but it's true. The lion/statue/whatever-it-is wouldn't hurt James, but he would hurt me. Even after finding a logical excuse for my fear and cowardly tendencies, I blush in embarrassment.

"He didn't hurt you?" I ask softly, looking up into his hazel eyes.

"Nope, didn't dare touch me." James smiles and I smile back, relieved.

"Scoot!" I tell him, punching his shoulder playfully.

He gets off of me and we stand up, taking in our surroundings, which now look exactly the same as before, except now the lion's back near Gracie's parent's grave and the hole…

"It's gone!" Gracie squeals, nearly knocking me off my feet with a bear hug. I laugh and hug her back, glad that she's all right.

"Oh, Jamesie!" Sirius mocks Gracie in a tearful high voice, as he emotionally runs toward James in slow motion.

"SIRY!" James shrieks in an imitation of a female's voice as he grabs Sirius in a hug. They break apart snickering.

Gracie sticks her tongue out at them, and Sirius makes a funny face at her in response. I roll my eyes.

"Do you think we could try the door again?" James wonders, eyeing the door in question.

"There's only one way to find out." Gracie grabs his arm and drags him off. Sirius and I follow a step behind them. I keep one eye on the lion, which's still watching us—I swear—even if he doesn't technically have eyes.

"Well?" Gracie asks, looking at James. Her hand hovers over the door. James steals a glance in the direction of Sirius and me. He hesitates but lifts his hand, touching hers.

"I suppose we're all going to die anyway," he sighs.

"I love the optimism," Sirius comments, sarcastically.

Their hands quiver, fingers trembling violently as they reach slowly for the deadly door. I glance at Sirius. His face is filled with fear and anticipation. We were lucky once, but the chances of it happening twice aren't good at all. I suck in a sharp breath. Beside me I feel Sirius tense. Our lives are in our friends' hands and Gracie and James are well aware of this. Gracie bites so hard on her lip that she bleeds, and a sweat drop forms on James's smooth brow.

The door flickers, shuddering as it glows lightly around the edges.

Please, please work. Please.

I hold my breath and wait.

And it opens.

I sigh in relief.

"I'll go first."

Gracie lights her wand and plunges into the dark room before her.

"Follow me," James whispers to us, as if he thinks we're going to go off exploring or something, or run back into the ferocious lion's deadly den. Sirius pretends to turn around, just to piss James off, but I seize the back of his cloak and pull him through the door with me. No time for jokes, let's just get the hell out of here before the lion changes his mind about us. Sirius and I follow James's bobbing light as Gracie's light grows larger.

"I don't need you to hold my hand, Lily, I'm perfectly capable of walking," Sirius complains to his left shoulder. I happen to be on his right. Wow, I didn't realize how dark it was in here before.

"Sirius, I'm not holding your hand, I only pulled you out of there because you were goofing off. I haven't touched you since!" I snap. Honestly, this isn't time for these petty arguments.

"Yeah, now you let go," he grumbles.

"I wasn't holding your hand, I swear!" I argue truthfully.

"Right," he says sarcastically, obviously not believing me.

"Damn it!" Gracie swears up ahead. James stops beside her, asking what's wrong.

"The doors, they all look the same. The room's a bloody circle! Which one did we come in through?" she asks desperately, the light flashing briefly on her panicked face.

"I don't know," James admits glumly.

"How are we going to get out of here, then?" Gracie asks him fearfully.

"Er…we can start looking. One of the door's bound to be the right one…"

"We don't have time!" Gracie groans, but she and James frantically start looking over the doors.

Sirius suddenly lights his wand, practically poking it into my face as he runs past me to help them look.

"My eyes, Sirius! Lower that thing before you make me permanently blind!" I order, covering my precious eyes.

"I don't even have my wand with me, Lily!" Sirius growls from beside me, brushing against me to prove that he hasn't moved at all.

"But-"

"See!"

"I can't see, you dolt, I'm still seeing dots from your stupid light!" I grumble, blinking furiously.

"It wasn't mine!" Sirius holds up what looks like two empty hands, but I can't be sure because my eyes haven't recovered yet.

"Well, then what was it, a ghost?" I offer, mocking him.

"Shut up and help us!" James yells to us.

Both of us move toward a light, walking into each other. He mutters something under his breath, and shoves past me in the direction of James's voice, which is growling for us to hurry the hell up. Even though my vision is still marred by giant neon multicolored dots that look like falling space invaders, I notice that he is, in fact, missing his wand. That explains why he took the torch earlier, which we, of course, lost. The lion probably ate it. I hope he gets indigestion!

I stumble toward the nearest light, opposite the path that Sirius took to James.

Gracie sits quietly, running her hands over the door, her back to me. The light shimmers in her hair, making it look almost curly. I touch her shoulder and she jumps about six feet into the air. Her wand is out and pointed at the center of my chest before I can think twice. Whoa, talk about paranoid.

"I just came over to help you look, James told me…" I tell her, studying her face, which, clouded in shadows, now looks strange and unfamiliar. Her dark eyes flit across my face and slowly she lowers the wand.

"Oh, James did? Okay," she says reluctantly in a voice that doesn't quite sound like her own. Gracie turns around rather quickly, returning to her original position in front of the door. I light my wand and crouch down beside her.

"This is it," she decides after a minute of examining it.

"I'll take your word for it, Gracie."

Gracie gives me a funny look as we get to our feet.

"What?" I ask, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her eyes, which in this light seem unnaturally dark.

"Nothing," she giggles. "It's just that you called me Gr—never mind." She shakes her head, a weird smile crossing her face. I watch her closely as she lifts her hand, passing it over the door. The hand's scratched and scarred, probably from our ordeal, but it looks as if she attempted to heal it, or Sirius, perhaps, judging by how horribly it was done. The door shimmers and opens. Gracie smiles at me and steps through.

"Over here! We've found it!" I call to the others.

"Oh, good, James!" Gracie yells from the other side of the room. "I knew you'd find it!"

"It was all you, Gracie!" James corrects her as he and Sirius stumble toward me and out the door.

"Stop being so modest, James!" Gracie jokes coming up behind me. "I would've led us back into the lion's den if it hadn't been for you and Lily working on this one."

"I was stuck with this idiot!" James protests.

"Takes one to know one!" Sirius shoots back in an immature sing-song voice.

I hear them running up the stairs.

"Come on, Lily!" Gracie grabs my arm and pulls me toward the door, which only moments before I could've sworn I watched her step through, after she picked it out.

"Lily?" Gracie asks worriedly. Her eyes shine like deep blue sapphires even in the dim light of her wand. I blink, looking at the doorway, which is now empty, because she's standing beside me. But that doesn't make sense…

"Lily, the door!"

I look up just in time to see the door seal shut in front of us.

"Crap!"

"I'm sorry Gracie!" I apologize immediately. "I don't know why I froze, one minute you were… and then…"

"It's all right, no fuss. Let's just hope I have enough blood in me…" Gracie nervously rubs her hands together.

"You do, I just watched you open it," I assure her.

"Yeah, but that was with James. It's a little different when there's two of you that have it, a person like me, there's always that chance that it might reject me," Gracie brushes it off.

"Gracie, I watched you open it with my own eyes!" I frown.

"But that was with James," Gracie repeats impatiently.

"No, it wasn't!"

I saw her do it! She was standing here only a minute ago!

"We can argue about this later." Gracie lifts the same hand that I watched her use before, the one that's not holding her wand. She's the only person I know who is left handed, therefore using their left arm as their wand arm. Her right hand moves to the door, and I notice that the scars that were there only moments before have disappeared.

I gape, staring at her hand. I grab at it, but Gracie pulls away.

"What's wrong with you, Lily?" she asks.

"But you – you already opened it," I stammer. "And your hand, it's healed…"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" she bellows when I again, refuse to budge. I wake up then, realizing where we are and recalling what the consequences might be if I decided to prolong my stay in the Moon Mausoleum. Dazed, I allow her to pull me from the room and drag me up the steps. I start running then and Gracie lets go of my arm as a dancing light appears up ahead. My heart jumps into my throat when I discover that it's not the boy's wands but the flickering torch from the entrance.

"Hurry!" Gracie urges me.

I put on an extra burst of speed and run out into the cool night air. Behind me I hear a squelching noise as the door rematerializes and seals itself. There's a flurry of arms and voices as Sirius and James join us, each of us checking to make sure that the others came out safe and sound.

"We're alive!" I laugh, hugging James as the four of us walk through the cemetery toward the gate.

"I think we're the first that have ever come out of there with our lives still intact," James chuckles.

"And we'll probably be the last." I smile and pull away, hugging Gracie again.

_SNAP_!

A twig snaps and something crashes in the trees near us. A startled rat streaks out onto the path and is gone as quick as it appeared. We freeze and hold our breath, but whatever it is, stays hidden in the woods, silent and motionless.

"It's probably a cat or something," Sirius assures us, but he looks around warily.

"I don't like this," Gracie starts backing up, toward the gate. "Come on, I'll race you guys back to the house!" She turns and runs, only stopping for an instant to open the gate, before disappearing in the tree-covered path.

We look at each other and then hurry after her.

James struggles to open the gate with fumbling fingers, as Gracie's footsteps fade, growing further away. I shiver against the cold, glancing over my shoulder for what will hopefully be the last time, at the Moon burial ground. Far away in the distance I can see the glowing mausoleum with its smoldering torch. A dark figure moves among the tombstones. Her scarred ivory hand passing over the tombs, as her black, curling hair unfurls, rippling in a fleeting flash of the full moon. Her eyes are brown and although I can't see them, I know they are hauntingly familiar.

"Come on, Lily!" Sirius says somewhere on the other side of the now opened gate.

But I'm transfixed by the ghostly image of the woman, my heart pounding somewhere in my ears as wild and crazy thoughts scramble noisily through my mind.

The moon slides behind a cloud, the world sliding into shadows and darkness. The woman slips away becoming a part of the night. James grabs my hand, tugging me along.

Theories and notions crash through my mind, smashing and colliding with logic and all lines of sanity. The conclusion that I come to makes me run despite the fact that I have a stitch in my side and I can hardly breathe or keep up with James's long legs (though he slows down considerably just for me). I run away from her.

When we reach the house at last, Gracie and Sirius are sitting at the kitchen table, removing their cloaks and scarves.

"Lily, you look as if you've seen a ghost!" Gracie jokes.

"I think I did," I mumble, but the others fail to hear me as a tapping interrupts all activity. Gracie runs to the window and the owl zips inside dropping a note in the center of the table.

_Dear James, _

_I'm so sorry. You're probably wondering where we are, then again you probably haven't got up yet, but just in case I wanted to let you know before you heard the news that we're fine. We're helping them clean up but hopefully I'll be home shortly._

_Mom_

"News? What news?" James asks, after he reads it aloud to all of us.

Gracie looks it over with Sirius reading over her shoulder. She frowns but it's broken by a huge yawn. It's almost half past six in the morning and we're all exhausted. The yawning is contagious and before long we're all yawning, too sleepy to think of anything else.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Gracie dismisses it sleepily as we head upstairs.

James nods, but I notice that he seems uneasy even as he gives her a small smile and goes to his room. The rest of us say good night and split up.

The moon never came back out from beneath the clouds, instead a grey glow, the early morning light replaced it when the clouds finally cleared. I shut the shade, blocking out the dawn. I curl up in the bed, my eyes shutting. I'm too tired to change and too tired even to dwell on the mysterious woman and her haunting face which keeps reappearing in various forms and ages, all bearing an eerie resemblance to my best friend, her mysterious adopted daughter and her deceased mother—Hope.

* * *

**A/N**: _Two weeks later, well actually, it's been more than two weeks... But I kind of forgot that I had this chapter already BETAed so don't kill me, I'm human.The next chaptershould be up in a week or so or perhaps sooner. Thank you for reviewing! And thank you again, Danielle for taking the time to sort through my fourth grade grammar. _


	17. Shades of Grey

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, except the Adams and the Crowleys. _

**Chapter 16: Shades of Grey**

"Lily, wake up."

Someone gently shakes me awake. I open my eyes, blinking in the dimly lit room. A crack of sunlight escapes from the shade, flooding the face of the person hovering over me. The light glances off of James's glasses, hiding his lovely hazel eyes.

"James?" I ask groggily. It feels like only seconds ago I laid my head down and went to sleep, but now apparently it's morning, or afternoon, or whatever. The shade's shut so I can't tell.

"She's up now," he says, turning to someone else behind him.

"Thanks, James," Alice whispers. Alice? That can't be right. "Are your parents back yet?" Alice asks and I sit up hastily, peering around James.

"No, but we heard from them. They're fine," James replies, moving away from the bed and giving me a full view of my dear friend Alice - who I was under the impression I had left at the station, heading home to stay with her family and then Frank. But now she stands at the end of my bed, clutching a wrinkled newspaper to her chest.

"Alice!" I open my arms and she hugs me.

"Long time no see," I laugh, pulling away.

Alice gives me a strained smile and a forced laugh that comes out sounding like a cough. Her eyes contain confusion and fear, and it worries me that her good-natured face is now lined with a rare frown.

"Why are you here?" I ask, concerned.

Alice opens and closes her mouth several times, bending and rolling the newspaper. Finally, she miserably avoids my eyes, shoving her precious newspaper at me. The_ Daily Prophet_ unfurls, sliding off the bed. I retrieve it from the edge as Alice buries her face in her hands. Over the top of her head I can see James conversing softly with Gracie in the doorway. The two of them glance at us and then Gracie walks out of the room.

Slowly, I look down at the winking photograph.

I gasp.

My serial killer - the wanna-be-dementor - leers at me from the front page. He chases a wounded, screaming woman out of the frame. They stumble over bodies and other black hooded figures, dressed the same as their fellow cult members. They bump into hysterical Ministry officials and overturn tables, causing havoc in the back of the frame. A chandelier falls and smashes to the floor and spells zip left and right as people fall and get back up over and over again. My hands clench, the newspaper crunching between my trembling hands.

"What is this?" I ask fearfully, but my eyes move to the headline answering my own question.

**DEATH EATERS MAKE AN APPEARANCE AT ANNUAL YULETIDE MINISTRY BALL**

**14 PEOPLE DEAD, SOME STILL MISSING, ALMOST 100 INJURED. **

"Oh Lily, it's awful! My parents were there, so were the Longbottoms, the Potters and Mr. Crowley!" Alice moans from beside me.

I stare transfixed at the photograph, hardly listening. This was the man who had almost killed me - a man who's one of many wreaking havoc among the Wizarding World by murdering innocent people. This man could've killed Gracie's family. These…Death Eaters are a group of mad killers on the loose and they don't seem to be too picky about their targets. What's going on? I don't understand…

"Mr. Crowley didn't make it."

"What?" My head snaps up, but it's James who asks the question.

"Tiffany's dad, he was killed in the attack," Alice's voice quivers and she takes deep breaths to prevent herself from breaking down.

Several minutes later, I finally find my voice again.

"That would explain her behavior," I murmur. "And why she's at Hogwarts…"

"She's at Hogwarts?" Alice asks me.

I nod.

"I didn't think to look there. She must've heard the news and gone there. She was staying with her mother after all. Tiffany knew that Remus would be at Hogwarts, and she probably caught the first train back. It actually makes sense now. I don't know why I didn't think of that myself. Here I was having a nervous break down all morning, going crazy trying to locate her and all this time she's been at Hogwarts with Remus. Oh, I was so worried, I thought she might have been hurt or…"

Alice catches her breath, meeting my eyes for only a brief moment before lowering them to the floor. She looks as if she might burst into tears at any moment. I feel her pain, not so much the crying part, but the confusion and the fear that surrounds the chaotic flashing photograph on the front page. I throw the covers off, sliding down the bed to her side. I put my arm around her and give her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Did you owl her?" I ask.

"Yes." Alice nods.

"She didn't answer?"

"No, but Remus will take care of her," Alice reassures herself. I share a look with James, knowing that Remus won't be around for at least another two days and Tiffany's on her own. Well, unless you count Peter, but he's useless. He probably doesn't even know that she's there or that something terrible has happened.

"Come on, Alice, you can stay with us for breakfast," James says gently from the doorway.

"I should get going-" Alice mumbles as James helps her up and leads the way to the kitchen. I grab my dressing gown and hurry after them.

Gracie and Sirius sit at the breakfast table still in their dressing gowns and pajamas, each nursing a cup of tea. James pulls out two chairs for us and sits down beside me. I smile gratefully up at him.

"Want tea?" Gracie asks Alice and me groggily, making an effort to be polite, but she's still half asleep.

"Sure," I reply, glancing at Alice who's got the newspaper back in her hands again and is fiddling with it nervously.

"Teddy, can you get us another two cups?" Gracie asks politely.

"Right away!" a voice squeaks in reply and I hear the sound of porcelain cups clinking and tea being poured.

"How'd you get here?" James asks Alice conversationally.

"Floo Powder," she replies.

"They didn't go into lock down and shut off the network?" Gracie asks curiously.

"They did but they opened it about an hour ago. A lot of people were too weak to Apparate, so they were forced to open the network. Thank you." Alice takes her tea, sipping on it for a moment before putting it back down.

"Miss, your tea." Someone tugs at my sleeve, holding out the teacup to me.

"Thanks." Absently, I accept the cup, holding it in both hands, soaking up the warmth.

"Will that be all, Master James?" the squeaky voice asks again, causing me to do a double take because it's not human.

"Yes, Teddy, I think we can manage it from here." James nods.

I follow James's eyes, watching as a small creature walks around the table and leaves through the door. Dressed in a comfortable grey jacket and a pair of pants, I would've sworn it was an ordinary child if only it hadn't had pointed ears and large bulging yellow eyes.

I choke on my tea.

"Are you okay?" James asks immediately.

I nod, coughing and spluttering as I attempt to swallow.

"I'm fine," I croak, swallowing another gulp of my tea in an attempt to wash it down.

"It's probably the tea; we hired Teddy in September and he can't get the tea right, not that I care. I miss Faye, she was able to make it just right; it's a shame she died just before we left for school."

"Faye?" I splutter, spinning around to look at where the creature disappeared to.

"Yeah, she was the family house-elf. Mom said that Faye would be the last house-elf, since I'm almost out of the house, but she changed her mind and hired Teddy to take care of some things." James shakes his head and takes another swallow of his tea.

"Do they all look like that?" I ask curiously, still staring after "Teddy."

"What do you mean?" Gracie asks, frowning.

"House-elves, do they all have those eyes?" I continue, something coming together and clicking inside of my head. The bulging yellow eyes scare me because I know that I've seen them somewhere before…

"Oh, I suppose so." James gives me a funny look, but Gracie chuckles, nudging Sirius and whispering something in his ear. Sirius grins and whispers to James.

"Muggle thing, sorry. forgot." James smiles at me.

"It's all right; are they like your pets?" I ask carefully.

"Not exactly," Gracie answers.

POP!

A windswept dark haired woman materializes in the kitchen. For a split second I wonder if it's the ghostly apparition that I saw in the graveyard, but she flies to James and envelopes him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Mom!" Relief sounds in James's voice as he hugs her back.

"Where's Dad?" he asks eagerly as Mrs. Potter moves onto her niece and Sirius. Unable to choose between the two, she decides to crush them both, resulting in a painful head knocking for Gracie and Sirius and intimate cheek rubbing. Gracie and Sirius both manage to free themselves, Gracie blushing and Sirius discreetly avoiding her gaze.

"Oh, he's busy with work; there's a lot of clean up work to be done and new security shields to be put up and probes and investigations…" She shakes her head and swoops down upon me. For a moment I can't breathe and then she notices Alice and stops.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter. I'm on my way out; I only stopped in for breakfast," Alice says, hastily rising from her chair.

"That's fine, stay as long as you like. What's your name again?" she asks, studying her.

"Alice, Alice Reynolds," Alice replies shyly.

"I knew I saw the resemblance. Tell your mother that I hope her arm heals quickly," Heather adds as Alice heads for the fireplace.

"I will." Alice takes a pinch of powder and disappears in a swirl of green flames.

The kitchen falls into silence as the last of the flames turn to ashes and disappear. Mrs. Potter sits down in Alice's vacant chair, summoning a cup of tea with a wave of her wand. She sips on it, scrutinizing us over the lip of the cup.

"You all look as if you've had a rough morning, too," she breaks the unbearable silence at last.

Rough morning? Try waking up in a tomb and see how peppy you feel when the sun comes up.

"Tiffany Crowley's dad died," Gracie explains.

"Oh, I forgot she was one of your friends," Heather whispers, barely suppressing a yawn. "I'm sorry, but I haven't slept a wink all night. We were transferred to St. Mungo's, and they wouldn't let us leave. I knew you four would be fine, but I was worried that you might try to contact us; they weren't letting any owls in and we only got to send one out…" she trails off, shuddering, perhaps remembering the horrors of that night.

"Get some rest, Auntie Heather," Gracie urges her.

"I think I might." She kisses Gracie and James's head absently, and yawning retreats to her bed.

I turn to James, recalling something important that I was supposed to ask about before his mother's arrival. James lowers his cup, giving me his full attention. His hazel eyes look almost golden in this light and I wonder vaguely why I've never noticed such an unusual and becoming color in his eyes before. Lately, I've started noticing several things about James, beginning with the fact that his eyes change colors depending on the light or the room or even his emotions…

"What?" James asks softly, automatically running a hand through his hair.

"Nothing." I turn away, embarrassed, especially since one look in his eyes caused me to forget whatever I had to say to him—and everything else for that matter. I feel James's eyes upon me and I believe I'm blushing.

Seeking a distraction, I pull Alice's discarded newspaper toward me. My unsuccessful serial killer leers up at me from the moving photograph, so lifelike that it seems tangible. I can almost hear the screaming, smell the fire, feel the panic and the fear. The headline screams at me and I get the strangest feeling that this isn't the end, but merely the beginning of something terrible…

I shudder and flip it over so I don't have to look at it but there's no escape, even on the back page where the long list of deaths spills over.

**THE OBITUARIES**

**Crowley, Timothy. 47**

…_**one of the many victims of last night's attack - which has now been confirmed to be the work of the Adam's murderers - Mr. Crowley was a devoted and valued employee of the Ministry of Magic as well as a loving father to his daughter, Tiffany…**_

The movement at the table stops. Three other pairs of eyes stare at the page, frozen. A few moments pass in silence before Gracie gets up from her seat and abruptly leaves the room. Sirius watches her go, and silently goes over to refill his teacup at the stove. He takes a sip, dumps the rest down the sink and leaves the room as well.

James and I remain with the paper sitting between us like a firewall. I'm entranced, my eyes traveling down to read about the deaths of _Thomas, Samuel. 19_ who would've turned twenty today and _McKinnon, Marlene. 36_ who had five young children. The list continues and at the top of it all is a small winking photograph of a smiling curly-haired, middle-aged man with his arms wrapped around a laughing younger version of Tiffany. My eyes burn and I can't read anymore. I don't want to read anymore.

Suddenly, James seizes the paper and hurls it across the room. It smacks into the frosty kitchen windowpane before dropping into the wet sink.

I jerk out of my trance, my eyes snapping to him.

"I hate them," he whispers, glaring at the sink it disappeared into, as if it's the newspaper's fault.

I look at his clenched fists, his tense muscles, and the fire burning in his now brown eyes. If only our anger, grief, and pain could be wielded as a weapon, they wouldn't stand a chance. But things don't work out like that, not in this world.

Without thinking, I lean across the table and kiss his cheek.

James looks at me, the anger and hatred immediately fading and all of the wounds suddenly healing. I stare into those gorgeous eyes, barely comprehending what I've just done.

"I'm sure we're not the only ones," I tell him softly.

"I'm sure," James echoes, watching as I stand up and push my chair in.

Suddenly, I feel self-conscious standing in front of him, dressed in my dirty clothes that I wore yesterday to the tomb (I was too tired to change out of them) and a faded lavender dressing robe that's too short for me. I notice for the first time that he's already changed into fresh clothes and looks tired, but at the same time wide awake.

"Well, I'm going to bed," I say shyly. "Maybe you should, too," I suggest, noticing his tired eyes.

"Don't worry about me." James smiles up at me.

I hesitate but then turn and leave the room.

"Sweet dreams, Lily," he calls after me. And for some strange reason I smile.

* * *

Christmas, my favorite holiday of the year, was extremely disappointing. I wouldn't say it was the worse Christmas I've ever had - because Petunia wasn't with me, and that's always a plus - but I missed my parents, dreadfully. James's dad came in around nine in the morning and we all quietly exchanged gifts (Mrs. and Mr. Potter had been kind enough to get me a gift since my parents weren't aloud to send anything, and only Tiffany's gift was missing, since Remus had sent our gifts in advance.) Then he went to sleep for a few hours, got up and left for work again. Immediately after gifts were exchanged, Heather went to St. Mungo's to help with the victims of the Yuletide Ball accident and the families of the dead who were gathering to identify the bodies. Gracie, strangely enough, volunteered to go with her. Her aunt tried to talk her out of it, but Gracie, with a look of determination, got into the fireplace and left while Heather was still trying to convince her that it was a bad idea. Heather had sighed and Apparated there to join her. 

James, Sirius and I stayed home and had a chess tournament. Sirius quickly got bored with the game. James and I were better at the game anyway, so we faced off and James let me win, until I yelled at him to stop. So, he did and I lost so horribly that I wished he hadn't stopped letting me win. Then I found out that he was cheating and I got mad and went to my room to do my homework and wrote letters to Tiffany and Alice instead. I should've gone with Gracie and her aunt; that would've been the right thing to do, but I didn't want to have to face those families, especially Tiffany. Gracie's whole world fell apart when her family was murdered and my heart broke because I was helpless. I couldn't bear to go through that again. I should've known though, that eventually I would have to face her - like right now - at Mr. Crowley's funeral.

The black robes stand out in sharp contrast to the snow-covered ground and frost-covered trees. One thing seems to add to the proper funeral mood, though: everything's dead. The sky is an endless stretch of grey, and the grey, cracked tombstones seem to become a part of the sky so that if you look between the trees all you see is grey and you can't tell where the sky begins and the earth ends. A biting chill weasels its way into my toes and freezes my ivory fingers.

Tiffany had been there, crying openly, not caring who saw, but now her cries are mysteriously absent, and have been for some time. I look up my eyes passing over her hypocritical mother, who's dramatically wailing and sobbing onto the shoulder of an old man, a Ministry employee perhaps, whom looks rather uncomfortable with this strange woman who happens to be obviously faking her grief and the huge opposing bodyguard who hovers over her. Tiffany told us several times that her mother hated her dad and had walked out on him. I keep looking but Tiffany's not there.

"Guys," I whisper, elbowing James, who's beside me. "Where'd Tiffany go?"

"She's not here?" James frowns. Alice and Frank share a panicked glance and Gracie and Sirius look around frantically as the eulogy comes to an end and the people start lining up for a last view of the coffin. But Tiffany's gone M.I.A.

"Where is she?" I wonder aloud, as one after another people toss flowers over the black shining lid, and pass their hands lovingly over it.

"She's gone," a voice answers from behind us.

I whip around, and come face to face with Remus Lupin.

"Remus!" I gasp loudly, drawing a few glares from the people around us.

"What are you doing here?" Gracie hisses, perhaps taking notice of the dark circles surround his tired eyes and a fresh scar lining his cheek.

"The same thing you are, I'm attending the funeral of my friend's father," Remus replies, eyeing her curiously. He's probably wondering if she knows about his "furry little problem" as I've often heard James refer to it before.

"I know but you-"

"Never mind that," Remus interrupts, his eyes once again lingering on Gracie and then moving to James and Sirius who carefully avoid his eyes. "She's gone. I looked and she's not here."

"Oh no," Alice moans, fresh tears filling her eyes.

"Shhh..." Frank whispers soothingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He rubs her back comfortingly even as his face betrays the panic that he's feeling.

"But I think I saw someone leaving when I came in," Remus continues thoughtfully. "It might've been her, but I saw her from a distance…"

"Which way?" I ask.

Remus points off toward a grove of trees, where there's a monument honoring a forgotten dead soldier and several benches set up. Tiffany's father was only a Half-blood so this was actually a Muggle graveyard. I grab James's arm and follow Remus toward the granite benches and the crumbling soldier, who's proudly waving Britain's flag and riding a horse. Our feet crunch through the new snow, but I quickly notice a line of footprints about my size leading to the grove and gain a little bit of hope.

When we enter we find it empty, except for one lone black figure huddled on a bench where the footprints disappear. Her back's to us, but there's no denying that mane of curling yellow hair. She's hunched over staring at the ground, concentrating on clearing snow from a patch of grass with the toes of her shiny black shoes.

Remus stops, inhaling sharply as if suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. Gracie and the others catch up to us, stopping as well to take in the sight of the fallen Tiffany Crowley, who ironically sits in the shadow of a deteriorating memorial of a once-brave fighter. This heartless Death Eater king is felling the bold, the beautiful and the brave. Even as I look at Tiffany, I see Gracie crumbling in my arms, so weak she's unable to walk or stand on her own and yet she was so strong.

Why are they doing this? How could they be so cruel?

Cautiously, we approach Tiffany, who continues to dig through the snow with her foot. Her eyes are narrowed, all of her efforts being poured into this mundane, needless task of exposing the dead grass beneath the half foot of snow. She's trying to take her mind off of it, or perhaps this is some strange way of channeling the grief, pain and anger that I saw reflected in Gracie and James's eyes not too long ago.

Remus boldly sits down beside her and Gracie hesitantly takes the remaining space on the other side.

"Tiffany," Gracie whispers.

Tiffany furiously kicks at the snow as if she's deaf to the world, but when Remus bravely moves his hand to her shoulder, she stops suddenly. Slowly, she lifts her head, as if suddenly noticing that there is someone beside her. Her eyes lock with Remus and a look of shock crosses her face, temporarily shrouding the heartfelt wounds blazing in her eyes.

"You came," she breathes.

Remus nods and Gracie takes Tiffany's hand. Tiffany whirls, noticing Gracie for the first time, and then she looks up and sees me, James and Sirius standing in front of her. Alice squeezes Tiffany's shoulder, and she looks over her shoulder, up at Alice and Frank at her back.

"You came, you all came," Tiffany whispers, looking tearfully around at all of us. A watery smile crosses her face, even as she dissolves into tears. She crumples and Remus and Gracie catch her on either side in a protective embrace.

And I realize then that while Gracie had James and her aunt and uncle, Tiffany only had one person - her father - and that one person was gone. The laughing photograph of Tiffany and her father from the obituaries flashes through my mind as Tiffany reaches out for me. She hugs us one by one, and then sits back down between Gracie and Remus, safe amongst the seven of us, her closest friends.

"Thank you," she whispers earnestly, through her tears. "Thank you for coming."

And I know that she means it. Our arrival and appearance means the world to her because we're all she has left now, we are her world.

* * *

Tiffany, Remus, Alice and Frank were all invited back to James's house. Frank politely turned down the offer, reminding us with a slump of his shoulders of his overbearing mother's strict rules. Alice predictably went with him. Remus and Tiffany were easily persuaded to return to the house. Tiffany, though, seemed to change her mind shortly after we arrived. 

"I want to go home," Tiffany says suddenly, while we're sitting around in front of the fireplace in the room that James once brought me to, that night after the Adam's funeral.

You can't go home, I want to tell her. I grit my teeth, remembering that I can't go home either. Neither can Gracie, but amongst her relatives she's made a new home for herself, and in a way, perhaps I, too, have set the Potter household up as a temporary shelter. They've become a substitution for the family who, for their own protection or mine, cannot be with me on this holiday. My parents flash through my mind and I feel the familiar swell of homesickness. Hastily, I take a huge swallow of butterbeer, the images of my parents fleeing my mind.

"Tiffany, I don't think it would be a good idea to go back there," Remus answers carefully.

"No. I don't want to go _there_," Tiffany replies, placing a distasteful emphasis on the word _there_. "She'll be _there_," Tiffany spits the words out as if washing out a bad taste in her mouth.

"But I thought you said-" Remus begins but Tiffany scowls and interrupts.

"I inherited everything, or I would've, but I don't turn seventeen until July and now that my father's dead, my mother has full custody of me for the next seven months," she explains, miserably staring down at her butterbeer as if a spider just crawled into it.

"So you have to live with your mother this summer?" Gracie asks, openmouthed.

Tiffany sniffs and nods. She traces the rim of the untouched mug with one finger, her hair falling into her eyes. The rest of us fidget uncertainly and even Gracie, who's been particularly helpful, seems to be at a loss for words.

"I'll take you back," Remus offers.

Tiffany lifts her head and looks at him. She stares at him for a long time before nodding, with what might've been a weak smile.

"Thank you," she says, putting aside the mug and getting to her feet.

"No problem, I have to go back to see Madam Pomfrey anyway…" Remus gets to his feet as well, and the rest of us follow with a feeling of helplessness.

"What? You're leaving?" Sirius asks, alarmed. "But Moony, you just got here!" Gracie claps a hand over his mouth, efficiently shutting him up.

"What Sirius means to say, is that you're welcome to stay here, Tiffany and Remus. We have plenty of room here and you know that we'd enjoy the company," Gracie interrupts Sirius's muffled protests with a genuine smile.

Tiffany painfully makes an attempt to smile and convey some acceptable excuse, but the truth is she feels awkward here, and she wants to go home, and Hogwarts is like a second home to us all. I know exactly how she feels because I was there once not too long ago, but I adjusted, somehow, to living in Potter's house, of all places.

"Ow!" Gracie suddenly jumps away from Sirius, cradling the hand that had been serving as a muzzle around Sirius's mouth only seconds before.

"What are you trying to do, eat me?" she growls to Sirius under her breath, as we follow Tiffany and Remus to the fireplace to see them off.

"You were trying to suffocate me," Sirius complains.

"You bit me!"

"Mmm-hmm and you taste good, like croissants and butterbeer…"

Gracie stares at Sirius, a little afraid of this reaction, which was definitely not what she was expecting. She wipes her hand on her robe, glaring at him. Sirius licks his lips, a slow grin spreading across his face. Gracie's eyes widen and she turns away scowling.

Tiffany and Remus hug each of us, and we say good-bye and wish them a happy new year. We'll be seeing them in a few days, of course, but these days, you never know what might happen in a matter of hours…

They disappear together in a whirl of green flames. As the fire goes out and the ashes float back down, Gracie turns on Sirius, picking up the argument right where they left off.

"You took a chunk out of my hand!" she cries, holding up her palm for all of us to see, where there is in fact a miniscule red dot, which might or might not have been the result of Sirius's molars.

I close my eyes. I'm not in the mood for this. At one point it might've amused me, but now it's only causing my head to pound. A hand brushes over the back of my robe and my eyes open. James leans close to me, his lovely eyes - now a shade of olive green - connecting with mine. Not for the first time, I wonder, looking into those eyes, if there's some sort of invisible bond between us.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asks, his eyes darting in Gracie and Sirius's direction before coming back to my own.

"I would love to."

He grabs my hand, pulling me from the kitchen and out the back door. Gracie and Sirius - who are now arguing about what Gracie's hand tastes like - fail to notice us as we make our oh-so-discreet escape, allowing the door to slam behind us.

"How long do you think it'll take them to notice that we've left?" I wonder aloud.

"They probably won't," James snorts and I laugh.

Over the past couple of days Sirius and Gracie had been acting extremely weird around each other. Ever since we came out of the tomb, something seemed to have changed between them. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was almost as if Sirius, well… liked Gracie. I don't mean like, as in like, like as a friend, I mean _like_, really _liking_ someone. Could Sirius possibly _like_ Gracie? Did he like her in the dating, ask to Hogsmeade, snog or shag kind of way? I thought I was going crazy when I saw the little gestures he made, like rushing to sit next to her, and being the first to get her a second scone or a cup of tea, and the staring thing was getting a little creepy. I even noticed him stroking her hair one day, so lightly that Gracie probably didn't even notice, at least I don't think she noticed, because she let him continue doing it for quite some time, and I never thought of Gracie as someone who would fall for Sirius but maybe…

At least now I know that I'm not going mad and hallucinating, since James noticed too, though it's not that comforting, considering I'm comparing my sanity to James's.

"They'll notice when we go back to Hogwarts; Gracie will be wondering why I'm not in the dorm, and Sirius will be looking for you, too," I point out.

"I was planning on merely a walk, kidnapping you for maybe an hour or two depending on how cold it is, but if you want we can run off together. I don't have any objections to that." James grins mischievously.

"Yeah, we'll elope," I tell him sarcastically.

"Okay, let's go!" James teases, breaking into a run.

I roll my eyes and drag my feet, forcing him to walk again, since he's reluctant to let go of my hand—which I'm holding for warmth reasons only, since I have no gloves and James's hand happens to be very warm and surprisingly soft in my own.

"I'm only sixteen, James. It's illegal," I explain, keeping the joke alive, since I like the way my face feels as it splits into a rare grin and I enjoy watching James's face light up, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"Lily, I live to break the rules," he tells me with a devilish grin that I find strangely becoming on his already too-handsome-for-his-own-good face.

"Well, I don't."

"That's because you're Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, Perfect, Prefect Lillian Evans," James says in a sing-song voice.

"I am not!" I protest, stopping and pulling him around to face me.

"You're at the top of our class, you spent the first five years at Hogwarts trying to get me and my friends in trouble, and you've already been picked for Head Girl, no questions asked. Don't try to deny it, Lily, because I know that if there's anyone who's going to try to make me follow the rules, it's going to be you." James smirks.

My face grows hot, and I realize that I'm blushing, because I can't deny it; I can't even come up with a half decent excuse.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with following the rules," I finally say lamely.

James starts laughing.

"Rules are made to keep order, and they should be followed. No one gets hurt when the rules are followed and the world's a lot better off with them." I give him an admonishing look, but my words slide off James like water on wax.

"Ah, but when we abide by the rules, we miss out on so much. The only time you can ever have fun or truly live is when you break them," James defends himself.

"Are you saying I'm dead?" My eyebrows move together, an involuntary frown creasing my face with a twist of my mouth.

"No!"

"You think I'm boring?" I ask biting my lip, because suddenly I feel oddly hurt by this accusation.

"Of course not!" James exclaims.

I stare hard at the snow, gripping my wand tightly with my free hand.

"I think you could lighten up a bit. Perhaps break a rule or two…"

I glare down at the snow, James's words causing me to flare up so much that my wand arm twitches, my wrist flicking.

"Because you have to admit, Lily, you're strict, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're-"

_SMACK_!

James's eyes pop, and his hand flies to his cheek. I catch my breath, staring at my wand, which is still pointed at his cheek. My anger got the better of me and as a result, some of the snow - which was initially at my feet - somehow made it to James's burning cheek. I have no idea how that happened. Honestly, I'm completely innocent. My wrist flicked impulsively and the snow just happened to go to his cheek.

He wipes it off but some of it melts, dripping down his neck and getting beneath his cloak.

"Good aim." He grins, looking at me, impressed. "I'll admit, Lily, I didn't know you had it in you to be such a _rebel_," he adds tauntingly.

"Shut up," I grumble, tucking my wand back into my pocket. Hurriedly, I start walking ahead, feeling extremely stupid and very childish.

"But unfortunately, you're forgetting something."

Oh god, he's never going to let me live this down. I've officially proved to him that I have the mentality of a tattle-tailing seven-year-old teacher's pet by throwing snow at him with my wand for Merlin's sake.

"What's that?" I ask, while I search silently for a place to dig a hole in the snow and never come out.

What was I thinking? I wasn't, that's the problem; I never think when James is around. My brain goes on vacation when he walks into the room and I'm governed by these silly, rude, foolish impulses that always lead to-

_THWACK_!

Something cold and wet hits me hard on my buttocks. I shriek and whirl around to find James smirking mercilessly. He grabs the lower branch of a tree, bogged down with frost and snow, lazily tossing a second expertly formed snowball in his free hand.

"Rule number one. Never, ever, turn your back on a Marauder."

With one hand still on my burning cheeks, I flick my wand, conjuring up a second haphazard snowball. My aim is horrible and it falls uselessly in the snow a few short yards away. James laughs and sends the second snowball my way. I duck, but not fast enough. I gasp as the snowball lands in my hair and my wand drops, disappearing into the snow. The cold snow wets my precious locks as I plunge my hands into the snow, frantically searching for my wand. But the snow's caught between my neck and sweater, and I can feel it melting even as my fingers go numb. James's laughter rings in my ears.

"POTTER!" I splutter, getting to my feet.

I lunge at him. James hastily jumps out of the way, letting go of the branch. The branch swings back, dumping all of the snow that was weighing upon it, off. The snow rains down on me and I scream as I'm swallowed up by a mini avalanche of frosted flakes. The limb sways in an invisible breeze, emptying the last of it's baggage onto my head. James gapes, obviously shocked by this stroke of luck. The snow piled around me, forming a mini snow bank. Instead of my ankles, the snow now reaches well past my knees, and a layer at least a couple of inches thick dusts my shoulders and the top of my hair.

I moan as the snow starts to seep through my clothes, sending chills through my body. I've become the abominable snow woman, and I feel like I'm about to turn into an ice cube. Carefully, I start to free one of my legs, hoping to prevent more snow from getting underneath my robes and into my shoes, which I unwisely chose instead of boots. Did I mention that I'm still dressed for the funeral, meaning I'm wearing a skimpy dress robe and a cloak! James watches me with a look of amusement on his face. He clutches his side and I realize it's because he's laughing. Damn him, he's laughing at me!

"Rule number two. Never, ever, challenge a Marauder to a snowball fight." Then he lets loose, laughing wildly, though he makes a half hearted attempt to hide it. "Lily, you look like the Ice Queen!"

I grit my teeth, but a growl escapes.

"The prettiest ice queen I've ever seen," he adds quickly, offering me a hand that I stubbornly refuse to accept. I give up on trying to extract my foot from the snow, and erupt from my frozen throne.

James turns his back on me, but I can hear him chortling. He rummages around in the snow, retrieving what looks like a giant icicle but must've been at one point, my beloved wand. Angrily, I grab it from him. I use it to aid me in brushing the snow off my cloak; like a lint roller, it goes after the flakes, but unfortunately it doesn't have quite the same satisfying effect.

"Allow me." James gives me a sympathetic look, though his mouth twitches suspiciously. "But the snow's so becoming on you," he sighs sadly, as he reluctantly lifts his wand and aims it at me. I give him a murderous glare and he speeds up considerably, sending a wave of warmth over me as the snow melts into droplets and evaporates. I shake out my robes and my hair, still feeling uncomfortably damp, but at least now my wand's functioning and I have feeling in my fingers. I flex them experimentally.

"Are you still cold?" James asks hesitantly. I turn sharply towards him, my eyes narrowing to slits.

"What do you think Sherlock?" I snarl.

"Erm, yes?" he mumbles, timidly sidestepping me.

I stomp off, balling my hands into fists. Anger radiates from me and perhaps for once Potter's actually feeling the aura and getting the message because he walks silently a few steps beside me.

"Lily?"

I don't answer but I slow down, stiffly folding my arms over my chest. I send him another glare over my shoulder but James fails to comprehend the meaning of this facial expression, proving my original theory wrong; he is still a thick headed git.

"Do you want my cloak?"

Stupid git, he never gets it. What do I have to do, throw a brick at him? Yell? Punch him in the face? No, I wouldn't want to do anything to that cute face of his. Cute? Since when did I find Potter even remotely attractive? His cockiness penetrates even those lovely eyes of his, giving him an ugliness that for some odd reason only I can truly see. No, I refuse to go soft on Potter, but I'll spare his face, just this once, because I wouldn't want his fan club after me.

What? I swear that's the only reason! Potter's fan club is like a pack of rabid animals; they swarm all over you and they'll never let you rest in peace, ever. I know, they're a group of ditzy girls who were born brainless (I mean, they find Potter likable for Merlin's sake, there must be something wrong with them), but they can get vicious when you hurt their "God." It's like that movie I saw with the guy in the midst of a pack of hungry lionesses, except picture perfume and magical cosmetic and hair products. You wouldn't believe how hazardous they are. Trust me, I almost died in third year after Potter walked into a boil hex. Honestly, I had no idea that he would be right there, it just happened, like now for example…

"_Oof!" _

Suddenly, James stumbles and falls on his arse. He must've slipped on some ice. It was an accident, a total accident. He was just too busy staring at me. Granted, I could've caught him, but my reflexes aren't good, you know. I try my best to feign sympathy as James sits up groaning, muttering about how he didn't see any ice.

"Oh my gosh, Potter! Are you okay?" I ask sweetly, but James isn't fooled for an instant.

"You tripped me!" He points an accusing finger at me.

"Me? Sweet, innocent, goody-two-shoe Lily Evans the Prefect? No. Potter, I think you're mistaken because I would _never _do such an unkind thing." I clasp my hands in front of me, smiling innocently down at his annoyed expression. He glares at me, and I flutter my eyelashes a bit. That does it—James suddenly bursts out laughing.

"You look like Sirius," he laughs. "When we've just pulled a huge prank on the Slytherins and McGonagall's caught us."

"I look nothing like Sirius!" I disagree, because we don't look anything alike. I have red hair and Sirius has black.

"You're right. You're much easier on the eyes, and a female I'm happy to notice - a gorgeous female." He gives me one of his famous seductive grins that he always uses one girls when he's about to bed them. Well, at least that's what I assume because obviously I don't know from experience because Potter and I would never get this far in a conversation.

James tries to get up, but he winces, clutching one of his ankles that he must've twisted in the fall. Cautiously, he puts a little weight on it, but a string of curse words seems to be the only progress since he lies back down in the cold snow a moment later.

I snigger, but I reluctantly go over to him. James looks up at me and holds up three fingers.

"Rule number three. Never piss off Ms. Evans," he recites from an invisible piece of parchment.

"What can I say, Potter, payback's a bi-"

"Yeah, it literally came back to bite me in the arse," James says sheepishly.

I laugh and kneel at his side. Grinning, I take out my wand. James shrinks back fearfully. He recoils, taking his injured ankle with him.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic!" I hit him playfully but give him a warm, reassuring smile.

James hesitantly sticks out his leg again. I touch his ankle gingerly, trying to find a good spot to aim the spell. James inhales sharply when I poke a particularly painful spot a little too energetically. _Oops!_

"Watch it, Evans, my life is in your hands," he teases, discreetly reminding me of the fact that his ankle really does hurt and that he could and probably would retaliate if I hurt him.

"Come now, Potter, with an innocent face like mine, how can you not trust me?" I give him a smile, my best imitation of Sirius's "It wasn't me, Professor," and James is distracted momentarily, rewarding me with a laugh and a spare moment to cast the healing spell and mend his ankle.

"All better."

I reach out and ruffle his already messed up hair, intending to treat him like the young child that he was acting like. James, though, always has better ideas, and while my hand's still discovering how unexpectedly soft his hair is, he decides to pull me down into the snow beside him.

"JAMES—" I would put in his middle name, but since I don't know it yet, I'll just have to skip that until I can find out. Blackmail. "—POTTER! How dare you!" I cry out shrilly, appalled by his audacity and the fact that, after all I did to him and he did to me, instead of wanting to smack him I have the strange desire to laugh.

"Rule number four. Don't mess with the hair," he explains, running a hand through his hair, only making it worse.

I stare at him, my hand halfway raised, ready for a quick journey to one of his smooth cheeks. The irony of the situation slaps me in the face like the cold snow beneath us and I give into a wave of helpless laughter.

"What? Is there something wrong with my hair?" he asks, worriedly patting down his hair.

I roll around in the snow, laughing hysterically. James watches me with a look of concern, nervously looking at his hand before putting it back into his hair again.

"You're impossible, James Potter!" I tell him, when I finally catch my breath. I clutch my sides, waiting for the spasms of a much-needed laugh to subside.

"Is that a compliment?" James risks a grin, and I giggle in response.

He lies down in the snow beside me, folding his arms and resting his unruly inky hair upon his interlaced fingers. I stop laughing, and he turns to me with a question in his gorgeous eyes which seem to have acquired a little bit of the snow, softening the golden brown to the color of hot chocolate mixed with a lot of melted marshmallows and milk. Just the way I like it.

I think I meant to say something witty, or perhaps I planned to come back with some clever form of revenge, but the snowy winter wonderland seemed to close around us and I was suddenly struck mute. I forgot about the freezing snow, which was currently seeping through my hair and clothes, both of which only minutes ago I had thoroughly dried and all of which was this deceivingly handsome boy's fault. I forgot about the fact that Potter was the very last person that I would want to date on the face of the earth, or let alone be in the same room with. I forgot about everything, my lips silently moving but no sound coming from them. My cheeks were flushed, my heart beating a little too quickly, and my stomach seemed to fill with butterflies.

"Are you okay, Lily?" James asks softly, bringing me back down to earth. We're still surrounded by this winter wonderland, which appears to be clouding my senses, crossing over into some childish fantastical tale that I was once obsessed with, something to do with an ice princess and the prince charming who finally melted her heart.

"I'm cold," I lie, because I'm not cold, though I should be. I'm very warm right now, and a lot of it has to do with the fact that James' shoulder is pressed against mine and I can feel the heat radiating off of him and off of my freakishly blushing rosy red face.

"I think I can take care of that problem." He shifts in the snow beside me, moving closer to me. I feel his arm go around my shoulders and my cheek being pressed against his chest. My face must be steaming. I think it's gone numb because it's so hot.

"Better?" he asks.

"Yes," I squeak, attempting to hide my face in the front of his cloak, so he won't see how hard I'm blushing.

"Good." If I'm not mistaken there was a tremor of amusement in his voice, or perhaps nervousness? Nah, James Potter is never nervous. But his heart beats so fast beneath my ear. I blush again. Damn the red hair and the pale skin, I blush so easily.

The rosy tinge fades, my face cooling. I have the chilling air and the mildly unpleasant feeling of snow in my robes to thank for that. My heart beat returns to normal, and I listen as James' slows its galloping pace as well. The silence takes over, and I close my eyes in contentment.

In the midst of this silent, peaceful winter wonderland, lying in the snow with James's arm around my shoulders and my head on his chest, I realize something.

For the first time in several weeks I feel safe and secure. I've found at last what my restless soul's been seeking in these last dark spiraling months; peace.

* * *

**A/N**: _Hey it's Christmas in July! Actually it's August but that's beside the point. I'm going to try to update as soon as possible. I have two possibly three chapters that will be up before I leave but I'm going on another vacation and then there's school... You can thank Danielle, my beta,for making it readable and making it look like I actually paid attention in English. And thank you too all of my reviewers for getting me through all of the bad days! THANK YOU!_


	18. I'm Not Crazy

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling._

**Chapter 17: I'm Not Crazy**

I hate Potter.

I never liked him.

Ever.

I don't care if he's attractive—just a little, I'll admit—or if he's funny—sometimes—or tolerable—rarely—or kind—next to never—or humble—I'm not sure if Potter knows the definition of this word—he's still a prat, one that I hate. Nothing's going to change that, nothing, you hear me? NOTHING.

So what if we played in the snow today? So what if I let him put his arms around me? I was cold, okay? End of story.

It bugs me though, that I would blush in his presence and snuggle with him, that I would allow _that_ to happen, even if it was only because I was cold. I actually felt…happy, happier than I had in a long time. That bothers me. "Potter" and "making me happy" don't belong in the same sentence.

I hate him!

I can't sleep because I keep thinking about him. His face keeps drifting back into my head, appearing on my closed lids and taking over my thoughts. I keep replaying over and over again the snowy childish romp we'd had, which ended with the two of us lying on our backs, snuggled up in the snow, and perfectly content. Who knows how long we stayed out there. It could've been days or it could've been seconds. My sense of time has been so badly shaken that I don't even know the date or the day of the week anymore. When it started to get dark I cleared my throat and, realizing the awkwardness of the situation, sat up and said we better go inside. So we did. I remember vaguely playing a game of Exploding Snap in my room with an infuriated Gracie who kept complaining about Sirius, until she went off on such a rant that she left without even saying goodnight.

So I changed and got into bed because I was tired.

But two hours later, as the witching hour passes, I can't sleep.

Damn him.

I get up, tossing the covers off of me. Throwing on my dressing robe, I quietly slip out of the bedroom. The hallway's deserted and dark save for the flickering light of a candle at the opposite end of the hall. I tiptoe the length of the carpet, praying that I don't wake anyone up, but as the light crawls toward me, casting my own shadow upon the opposite wall, I realize that I sent out my prayer moments too late.

"Come on, Gracie, cut it out!"

I stop dead in my tracks, immediately recognizing the voice.

"James?" I whisper.

James is standing on a staircase, where he'd been gazing down at the landing below. He moves the candle he's carrying from side to side, as if trying to cast me into better light. When he recognizes me, his eyes cloud over with confusion and he frowns.

"Lily, is that you?" he asks, despite the fact that we're a mere ten feet away from each other and he has a candle in my face.

"No, I'm Gracie." I roll my eyes, wondering how he could possibly mistake me for my best friend. I know he has trouble seeing, but the idiot has his glasses on so he should have no trouble identifying me. I mean in the daylight he can spot me from miles away. He stalks me and he stares at me all the time so you'd think that he'd be able to find me in a black hole by now.

"Oh, sorry. I could've sworn I saw Gracie. I heard her walking around and then I thought I saw her go downstairs… Hang on a second…" James pauses, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "What are you two doing up at this hour? Conspiring? Getting involved in illegal activities?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

"That's your job, James, remember? And I'm sure sleeping _alone_ hardly counts as an illegal activity." I fold my arms across my chest, wondering what he's playing at.

"You're not sleeping now," James points out.

"Well, I _was_." That's a lie, I wasn't sleeping, but I was trying to.

"No, you weren't." He grins and I blush.

I'm a horrible liar.

"Well, I would've been, if it hadn't been for _you_!" I snap.

Immediately I want to take these words and shove them back into my mouth, but luckily James doesn't seem to be listening.

"So, is Gracie downstairs waiting for you? And don't even try to feed me that she's-with-Sirius bull crap because I already checked, he's asleep," he says, looking around as if Gracie might suddenly Apparate into our midst—which she can't, because she's not seventeen yet either.

"Well, so is Gracie," I inform him confidently.

"Oh, really? How sure are you of that, because I could've sworn I just saw her sneaking off downstairs…" he trails off, smirking.

"James, I can hear her snoring from here."

James goes quiet, listening hard. I can almost see his ears wiggling and flicking as they try to catch the soft sound that's undeniably Gracie's loud snores. Well it has to be, I mean, where else could she be? And since I just basically put my life at stake here, that better be Gracie snoring in her bed or I will kill her tomorrow.

"I don't believe you," he says stubbornly.

I throw up my hands and march down the hall to Gracie's room. I admit I'm a tiny bit nervous, especially since I can't hear her snoring anymore. I'm right, of course, I have to be right. If I'm not Potter's going to say he told me so and smirk and do his cocky I'm-the-king-of-the-world swaggering dance and never let me live it down that I was actually wrong once. I'll show him.

"Well?" James asks, looking at the door expectantly.

"What?" I ask snappishly.

"Are you going to open it?" He gestures toward the doorknob, which my hand is resting lightly upon but refuses to turn.

"James, she's asleep for Merlin's sake, I don't want to disturb her."

I don't want to find out that I'm wrong. I don't want Potter to be right.

"I can't hear anything," James says in a singsong voice, leaning his ear against the door.

"Fine!"

I turn the knob and open the door…

And breathe a sigh of relief.

Gracie's curled up with her back to us, fast asleep. Her snores are muffled by the fluffy pillows her face is stuffed into, and a trail of black hair streaks across the sheets that are pulled up to her chin. I whirl on James with a satisfied smirk.

"See, she's asleep."

"But I just saw her outside in the hall…" James protests, obviously reluctant to admit that he's wrong.

"It was me, you dolt." I hit him upside the head.

"It wasn't!" James hisses, swatting my arm away like a pesky fly.

"She's asleep, James!"

"No, she's faking it! I saw her! You two are trying to pull the wool over my eyes, but I won't stand for it—" I grab a chunk of his dressing robe, yanking him back.

"What are you talking about?" I whisper, fully aware of Gracie's stirring form and our rising voices.

"You're all lying, she's downstairs—" James continues loudly, wriggling free.

"Shhhh, you'll wake her!" I scold, hanging onto him.

"Why don't you quiet down!" James retorts, raising his voice defiantly.

"_S-S-irius?" _

I whip around and James freezes. Gracie has emerged from her fluffy throne and raised herself up on one elbow. I hold my breath as she groggily searches the doorway without bothering to open her eyes. Calling out Sirius's name again, she yawns before she even finishes the final syllable.

"No!" I clamp my hand over James's mouth before he can even think of answering.

"S-S-sirius, I – I think I would like to –to – g-go …" Gracie trails off into incoherent mumbling, slumping down wearily upon the mound of pillows.

"Go back to sleep," I whisper to Gracie, pulling James from the room. But judging by the unladylike snores coming from amongst the bob of black hair and marshmallow-like pillows, she never was fully awake to begin with. For some odd reason this causes me to snigger as I shut the door behind us.

I take the liberty to hit James a second time, this time getting a good swipe at his chest.

"What's the matter with you? You just woke her up!" I scold him, trying to hit him again, but James sidesteps me.

"Hardly, she won't remember a thing in the morning, and if I remember correctly, wasn't it your idea to go wake her?"

"Only because you thought we were breaking the law." I snort.

"We can continue this argument downstairs where we won't be waking anyone." He moves the candlestick to his other hand and I feel his fingers close over mine. I had every intention of heading back to my room, seriously, but I know that I can't leave this discussion unfinished. Besides, I want my revenge. I lost two hours of sleep over this insufferable boy. No one messes with my REM cycles, especially not pretty-boy Potter.

I allow James to lead me downstairs, since he's the one who has the stupid candle and in the dark I can't seem to remember the way to the kitchen. That's where I assume we're going or at least that's where I hope we're going. If James has other ideas, so help me I will kick his butt from here to Timbuktu. So anyway, we reach the foyer, and now I remember where the kitchen is; it's the door with the crack of light spilling under it. How nice of them to leave the lights on for us, it's almost as if they're expecting us…

"Sirius is asleep?" I ask again.

"Yeah," James admits hesitantly.

"Maybe it's your mom…"

"Maybe…" he answers with an unconvincing smile.

"Or perhaps your dad…" I suggest.

James shrugs, discarding this idea with a murmur about work and sleeping.

"It's probably just Faye, I mean Teddy. Well, Faye always left the light on. She was always ready to get us a snack if we needed one; she was like Sirius's personal chef." He laughs softly and then smiles wistfully at some fond memory. "I wish you could've met her," he whispers. Perhaps he's talking about the house-elf Faye or maybe he's talking about someone else – a particular aunt whose image was also triggered by the happy memory. I squeeze his hand and he gives me a smile, pushing the door open.

The kitchen's empty.

I frown and step inside. James sets the candle down on the table, and immediately finds a lone coffee cup sitting at one end of the table. A sliver of steam floats up from the milky depths; a scent of coffee beans, hazelnut perhaps, accosts our sensitive noses.

"Perhaps Gracie's been here after all," James laughs, nodding at the still steaming coffee cup.

"Nah, she hates coffee." I take a seat across from the mysterious cup, and James moves toward the stove where a kettle sits still boiling hot.

"I know, I hate coffee, too. It's all Sirius's fault." I raise my eyebrows and he shakes his head with a laugh. "It's a long story, but basically Sirius decided that it might be nice to replace my coffee with something else…"

"What was it?" I ask curiously.

"You don't want to know." James wrinkles his nose in disgust and I shudder. He picks up the bag of hazelnut with a puzzled expression, before replacing it in one of the polished cabinets. "Tea for you?"

"Do you even have to ask?" I grin and James chuckles, busying himself with the tea. I tap my fingers on the countertop, wondering who would be coming back for the cup, which was obviously only poured a minute or two before our arrival.

"Here." He hands me one of the teacups, sliding into the seat beside me.

"Thanks." I smile up at him gratefully and take a sip of the warm tea. Mmmm. James, though he can be a down right git, sure knows how to make tea perfectly.

"So what's all this about a conspiracy and illegal activities?" I ask, putting down the cup with a sly grin.

"Don't look at me like that, Lily," James sighs.

"Like what?" I ask.

"Like you don't know what I'm talking about!" he elaborates.

"But I honestly don't know what you're talking about! You're ranting like a lunatic about Gracie being downstairs, when we just saw her in bed, fast asleep!" I say, frustrated.

"But I saw _her_!" James suddenly points toward the doorway where a wide-awake Gracie suddenly saunters into the kitchen to reclaim her steaming coffee.

"Gracie!" I gasp.

"Bonjour!" Gracie greets us, raising her coffee mug in an over exaggerated toasting gesture. She takes a hearty sip of it, and lowers it with a grin—a strange, unfamiliar grin, one that I've seen before but seems oddly out of place on my best friend's face.

"I didn't know you knew French," I laugh.

"I don't." Gracie shrugs sheepishly.

"What are you doing up?" I ask conversationally, since Gracie's obviously not quite awake, because she's not acting like herself at all. Her voice sounds funny, her eyes look too dark and her hair even looks different, though I suppose it could be blamed on the lighting or bed head.

"I couldn't sleep," she replies, her dark eyes darting around the room.

I snort into my teacup, spitting out tea all over the table.

"That's a lie, Gracie. You were sound asleep seconds ago."

"No," Gracie tilts her head to the side, surveying me with one of her foreign looks, one that I've seen before but I can't remember where. "I've been up for almost an hour."

"Gracie, don't try to deny it!" I giggle, wiping the tea off of the table. "You were snoring."

"I don't snore," Gracie says seriously, the grin fading from her lips. I laugh again, the rest of my tea nearly sloshing out of my teacup and onto my dressing gown. I turn to James, but James has left his seat and is standing behind me, staring at Gracie as if she's suddenly morphed into a hippogriff.

"Yes, you do," I argue.

"You don't know that," Gracie counters with that serious tone of hers which almost has me fooled, almost.

"I do. Gracie, I've roomed with you for almost seven years; trust me, I think I would know if you snored or not," I laugh.

"I don't even know you."

I look up at her, shocked because there's no hint of amusement in her eyes, or any sign of a grin on her lips. Her eyes are so dark that they look brown—wait, they are brown! She looks strange, funny, oddly familiar, but at the same time, strikingly different.

"Gracie, are you okay?" I reach for her hand, partly to calm my own fears since I'm starting to feel sick because I'm obviously hallucinating.

Gracie snatches her hand from the table and suddenly rises from her seat.

"Stop calling me Gracie. I already told you I don't speak French," she answers.

"Your name's French?" I ask, bewildered at the turn of this conversation. I am. I'm dreaming, or I'm hallucinating because her hair's different now, too. It's longer and curlier… I blink but the illusion isn't going away.

"No, I'm not French!" She frowns.

"But-" I stutter.

"My name's not Gracie."

"Gracie, what's the matter with you?" I ask exasperatedly.

"It's Hope!" she yells, slamming a hand down on the table. Her coffee cup jumps, and my tea cup tips over. The hot tea runs over my hand, pooling on the tabletop and dripping off the edge, but I barely notice any of this. I blink, too stunned to speak.

"What?" James asks in a strangled voice.

She leans across the table, her unmistakably brown eyes level with James' hazel ones.

"My. Name. Is. HOPE!"

I catch my breath and hold it. The room tilts and tips, a wave of nausea sweeps through me. My hands grip the edge of the table and I try to hang on as my world is suddenly turned into a merry-go-round from hell. I could've sworn she just said that she was Hope… Of course, it could be just a coincidence, but I have seen her before and she does bear a resemblance to Gracie, Heather and Hope, _the_ Hope and that girl…

I gasp aloud, my hand flying to my mouth. James shoves me out of the way - I forgot he was even there - and whips out his wand. There's a dangerous light in his eyes and his hand is shaking uncontrollably with barely restrained anger.

"Who the hell are you?" he asks furiously in a quivering voice.

"I'm Hope," Hope repeats with a voice void of fear, but she keeps one eye on James and the other on his wand.

James's eyes flicker. A shudder passes through his body, his wand shaking violently. A strange noise, halfway between a sob and a yell escapes his lips. Suddenly, before I can stop him, he lunges, one hand grabbing her throat, the other pushing her up against the wall.

"Tell me who the hell you really are and why you're playing this sick joke or I will hex you until you don't even recognize yourself or know your _real_ name," he threatens, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

"Are you deaf? I already told you, I'm Hope Moon!" she responds angrily, straightening her shoulders and drawing herself up to her full height. "I should be asking who you are James _Potter_ and what you're doing living in _my_ house!"

James loses it at this point.

"JAMES, NO!"

But of course the thick git never listens to me. He fires a hex at her, but she deflects it with her wand, which I'd noticed she'd been discreetly drawing from her pocket.

"STOP!" I cry.

A second spell hits the wall, narrowly missing her head. James is suddenly thrown across the room onto his back. That's it, I've had enough.

"_EXPELLIARMUS!"_ I scream.

Both wands fall at my feet, and I hastily bend down and pick them up.

"Are you okay?" I ask James immediately.

"No!" he replies, glaring at the girl. But he sits up, completely unharmed.

"Did he hit you?" I ask, turning to the girl.

She glares back at James, but shakes her head. Her hair's smoking where the spell just grazed her head and beside her on the wall is a blackened spot where the spell eventually hit.

"Give me back my wand!" James demands. "She's a raving lunatic!"

"Not yet," I tell him quietly. There's something that I need to do first, something that I want to find out before I give James back his wand. I can't help it, I'm curious, and I can't shake the idea that I've seen this girl before, not once but on several occasions. I know her…

"Hope."

Reluctantly she turns away from James and brings her eyes back to me. Again I'm reminded of the many times that I've seen those eyes before, the latest memory sticks out in my mind, but several other hazy images are vying for my attention as well.

I point my wand at the nearest chair, reminding her that I mean business. She frowns, but sits down without protest, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. I swallow, wondering where to begin. There's so much I want to ask her, and yet she's insane, she has to be.

"You better explain yourself," I suggest quietly, pocketing the other two wands.

"Explain myself?" Hope exclaims, her eyes flashing. "What do you want me to tell you? You're one of many strangers living in _my_ house!"

"This is _my_ house now!" James hisses, appearing at my side.

"_Yours_?" Hope snorts. "The house has been in the family of the Moons for generations, I've lived here since the day I was born. And now all of a sudden you all drop in as if you own the place, eating our food, sleeping in our beds, attacking me in the halls, disturbing my ancestors-"

"I knew it!" I yell triumphantly because now I know where I've seen her before. I can finally place the memory. In the dark, relying on only the weak light of a wand, looking over the doors…

"_I just came over to help you look, James told me…" I tell her, studying her face, which, clouded in shadows, now looks strange and unfamiliar. Her dark eyes flit across my face and slowly she lowers the wand._

"_Oh, James did? Okay," she says reluctantly in a voice that doesn't quite sound like her own. She turns around rather quickly, returning to her original position in front of the door. I light my wand and crouch down beside her._

"_This is it," she decides after a minute of examining it._

"_I'll take your word for it, Gracie."_

_She gives me a funny look as we get to our feet._

"_What?" I ask, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her eyes, which in this light seem unnaturally dark._

"_Nothing," she giggles. "It's just that you called me Gr—never mind." She shakes her head, a weird smile crossing her face. I watch her closely as she lifts her hand, passing it over the door. The hand's scratched and scarred, probably from our ordeal, but it looks as if she attempted to heal it, or Sirius, perhaps, judging by how horribly it was done. The door shimmers and opens. She smiles at me and steps through._

"What is it, Lily?" James asks, shaking my shoulders and disrupting the video replaying in my mind of the final minutes in the tomb. I ignore him, reaching for the girl's right hand. She recoils, pulling her sleeve up and over it. I raise my eyes to hers.

"Let me see it," I say softly.

She rolls up her sleeve, exposing the familiar scarred, scratched hand that even now, still remains unhealed.

"_Gracie, I watched you open it with my own eyes!" I frown._

"_But that was with James," Gracie repeats impatiently._

"_No, it wasn't!"_

_I saw her do it! She was standing here only a minute ago!_

"_We can argue about this later." Gracie lifts the same hand that I watched her use before, the one that's not holding her wand. She's the only person I know who is left handed, therefore using their left arm as their wand arm. Her right hand moves to the door, and I notice that the scars that were there only moments before have disappeared._

_I gape, staring at her hand. I grab at it, but Gracie pulls away._

"_What's wrong with you, Lily?" she asks._

"_But you – you already opened it," I stammer. "And your hand, it's healed…"_

"You were there that night," I realize, running my hands over the scars. Hope winces, and wrenches her hand from mine. "You were there that night, in the tomb, I spoke with you. You were the one who found the door," I whisper.

Hope nods, keeping her eyes on her scarred hand.

"_I don't need you to hold my hand Lily, I'm perfectly capable of walking."_

"_I wasn't holding your hand, I swear!"_

"I wasn't hallucinating," I continue softly.

"_My eyes Sirius! Lower that thing before you make me permanently blind!"_

"_I don't even have my wand with me, Lily!"_

"_Well, then what was it, a ghost?"_

"You were there with us and you were the ghost in the graveyard that I saw as we were leaving," I recall, remembering the frightening presence slipping between the tombstones.

"Yes." Hope finally lifts her head, meeting my eyes once more. "I saved your silly arses, Mr. Potter's included, and instead of thanking me, you attack me," she snarls at James.

"I'd do it again if Lily would give me my wand back because you're either crazy or you're a ghost," James growls, leaning over my shoulder and into Hope's face.

"I'm not a ghost!" Hope cries, jumping to her feet, knocking her chair clean to the floor. "I'm solid! I'm alive!"

"That's debatable," I mutter.

"Do I look like a ghost to you? Am I transparent? No. I was drinking hot chocolate, was I not? Ghosts can't drink." She takes another sip of her hot chocolate to disprove this theory. She points at the overturned chair, knocks smartly on the table, and hits James to prove that she can touch him as well.

"Then you're a poltergeist," James insists, but he looks doubtful and confused, like a child that's realizing that Santa Claus may not be real after all.

Hope glares at him. James glares back at her. Then suddenly Hope cracks up laughing.

James and I exchange a worried glance, as Hope rights her overturned chair and sits back down, howling with laughter.

"Laughing like that is a sign of madness," James whispers to me. "I'm going to stun her."

"Don't you dare!" I slap a hand over my pocket, preventing him from retrieving his wand.

"Lily, you can't be serious! She's nuts!" he hisses, furiously gesturing to the wildly laughing Hope at the kitchen table.

I can't really disagree with him.

"She was the one who got us out of the tomb James," I remind him softly.

"Exactly!" James exclaims exasperatedly. "That just adds to the evidence!"

Again I can't disagree with him, but I refuse to allow him to harm her. At least not until I'm able to verify that she is indeed an insane woman claiming to be someone that's dead, that goes around raiding tombs, and seriously needs the help of St. Mungo's Insanity Ward. I'm disappointed to note that laughing wildly for no apparent reason certainly isn't helping our situation.

"You know," Hope giggles, wiping at her streaming eyes several minutes later. "That's what they said too, when I first told them."

"Who?" James asks.

"You know, _them_." Hope lowers her voice dramatically, making her eyes go round.

You know, I take it back, she has to be insane. Next she's going to start talking about the voices in her head.

"_They_ said I'm not supposed to talk to anyone," she whispers conspiringly.

My suspicions are confirmed. I change my mind. This girl needs some serious help. James gives me a meaningful, pleading look, and against my better judgment I hand him his wand.

"They said you'd react this way anyway," she continues quietly. "But I didn't listen to them. And they were right." She sniffs and wipes at her eyes, which are now filled with tears. She starts to sob loudly, occasionally mumbling and moaning something incoherent.

"…W-where is ever-r-ryone…I don't, d-d-don't like it h-h-ere… " she blurts out between sobs.

"Stun her," James mouths as the girl suddenly becomes hysterical again.

"…TAKE ME BACK! I WANT TO GO HOME!" she screams in a full-range tantrum.

"You do it," I mouth back.

But James cowers, and I realize that I'm going to have to do it. Even though she's screaming and ranting like she's insane, there's something so heartbreakingly familiar about her tears and screams, that I can't bring myself to even cast a full body bind, let alone a harmful stunning spell. As I step closer I remember Gracie, breaking down, mad at the world, and Tiffany…

"_I want to go home." _

I can't do this.

I kneel down in front of Hope, gently placing the wand down on the ground beside me.

"Hope," I whisper tentatively.

Hope quiets her sobs, looking up at me with a pair of large brown eyes. She's scared, terrified, afraid of me, of James, of all of this. And I know I've seen those eyes before, not in a tomb, but in the form of a child…

"What happened to you?" I ask softly in a voice I would normally use with a very young child because even now, in the form of a teenager probably older than me, I see her as a six-year-old child ready to flee.

"I don't know!" Hope wails, burying her head into her hands. "I don't know."

Neither do I. and there lies the problem. I'm not even sure what the heck she is, because she can't possibly be a ghost. She looks solid. I lay a hand on her shoulder and my hand stays in place. Yes, she's still solid. I lift my hand, recoiling. But then…what the hell is she?

"Get away from her!"

My heart stops at the sound of the unfamiliar baritone. I feel someone grab my arm, pulling me forcefully to my feet. I relax somewhat when I see it's only James who's got me.

"What-"

James pinches me, hard. I shut my mouth and follow his gaze back to Hope. Someone else has joined our midnight gathering uninvited.

James's father.

* * *

**A/N**: _Cliff hanger. The next chapter is a continuation of this chapter, but I figured I'd break it up so it would be easier on your eyes. I'll probably post the next chapter later this week. Thanks for the reviews! Thank you again Danielle for going through my horrid grammar and correcting everything!_


	19. Caught!

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling_

**Chapter 18: Caught**

The man, who I've barely seen since I got here a week ago, keeps us at bay with a commanding stare that isn't quite as harsh as a glare. James and I stay where we are, barely daring to so much as breathe. He walks past us and approaches Hope, who's hunched over and silently crying into her hands.

"Hope?" he asks, his face softening.

He stoops down so that his eyes are level with hers. He sweeps a hand over her hair, a paternal gesture, squeezing her shoulders.

"Hope, it's me, Danny," he continues softly, but Hope isn't responding, much like Gracie after her parents had died. It's amazing how similar she is to Gracie.

"Danny" gives it up as a hopeless case, as if this isn't unfamiliar to him. He straightens, running a hand through his messy hair, looking remarkably like his son who seems to have forgotten about his strong hold on my arm. I should remind him, because I think my arm's starting to tingle. It might be going numb…

Danny holds out one of his hands, palm up as if trying to catch rain. He tilts his head, concentrating on the ceiling.

"Heather," he calls wearily.

_POP!_

The woman materializes at his side. Dressed in a nightgown and hugging a thick quilt to her shoulders, she blinks groggily but wears a worried frown.

"You must've noticed the wards need to be replaced, I thought it could wait until the morning…" she stops immediately when she notices her son and me.

"Goodness, it's nearly one, what are you two doing up at this hour?" she asks.

James and I stammer out some lame excuses.

"We couldn't sleep-"

"I was really thirsty-"

"The snoring was too loud-"

"And the bed bugs were biting-"

That last one was all James, and I thought he was the experienced liar.

Danny lays his hands on his wife's quilted shoulders, and gently steers her away from us and toward the sniveling girl in the corner.

"OH!" Her hand flies to her mouth and she rushes toward Hope. She doesn't look the least bit surprised as she scoops the girl up into her arms with that incredible maternal strength that all mothers seem to have. But maybe she's mistaking her for Gracie as I so often did. However, James's Dad, he called her _Hope_.

"What happened?" she asks her husband, as Hope slumps in her arms.

"Why don't you ask your son?" Danny folds his arms across his chest, nodding toward us. Heather looks at us and her eyes widen. She glances back at him, and then at us, holding the motionless Hope protectively to her chest.

"How long have you been there?" she interrogates, forgetting the fact that she saw us when she first Apparated into the kitchen.

"We came down for some tea, and then she comes in…" James trails off, and I realize that this one time, we should've lied.

"You mean…" Heather seems at a loss for words as she continues, "you know… did she…?" she looks as if her head's swimming, but Danny quickly reads our unguarded expressions.

"You spoke with her."

He knows we know. I look down at my feet, and James bows his head as well.

"Look at me."

Obediently, James and I lift our heads and look him in the eye. He directs us to the two nearest chairs and takes a seat himself in front of us. Heather attends to Hope, rocking her like a baby, and I realize that she's putting her to sleep. She nods to her husband, keeping her eyes trained on us.

"One of you, tell me what happened here." He takes off his glasses, and wipes them on his shirt before putting them back on. "And don't leave anything out," he adds as an afterthought.

James and I have a quick silent argument to see which one of us will have to do the explaining. With a well-aimed kick to James' left shin, I win. James grimaces and glares at me, but Mr. Potter clears his throat. James quickly starts to explain what happened when we found Hope's steaming mug of coffee in the kitchen.

His voice fills the room. Danny listens intently, leaning forward in his chair. Heather sits on the floor, still rocking Hope, though the girl fell asleep long ago and started to snore softly. I watch him with rapt attention, letting his voice wash over me like a warm ray of sunlight streaming in through a window. He moves his arm sometimes, without knowing, giving his words a powerful effect. Every time he lifts his arm, it brushes against mine, and I find myself waiting, almost hoping for him to move his arm again. When he finishes and the silence has settled, I'm still looking at him, still watching his face, still longing for him to lift his arm again, just so that he'll touch me again.

What the hell?

I blink, pressing a hand to my forehead. I really am coming down with something. I ought to get this checked out by Madam Pomfrey, hallucinations and insane thoughts in the wizarding world can be deadly.

"Come on, Lily."

"Huh?"

James takes my hand. I slide off the stool, and let him lead me from the room. The door swings on its hinges, nearly catching me on the back swing but James pulls me out of the way. Suddenly, he turns me around and pushes me up against the wall. My breath hitches and my eyes widen.

"James!" I squeak when I finally find my voice.

"Sshhh…" He presses a finger to his lips, and points to the swinging door, which finally closes. Behind the door, James' parents are having a whispered conversation. I realize that they probably told us to leave the room so that they could talk but that in their haste they must've forgotten to place a silencing charm on the door.

"The wards needed to be replaced," Heather is quietly saying to her husband, "I knew this was going to happen, I told you I didn't want them all here for Christmas."

"It's not their fault and it's not hers either, someone was bound to find out no matter what we tried to do," Danny tries to placate her but Heather ignores him.

"This is the third time it's happened, Danny; if she catches one more glimpse of Gracie I think she's going to go insane!"

"She's already bloody insane, Heather! She's forty-one-years-old and she's been trapped in the body of a sixteen-year-old," he argues, his voice rising.

"It's better than being six, like when Gracie first found her wandering around the house," Heather hisses.

"You know as much as I do, Heather," Danny lowers his voice before continuing, "that they would've killed her if they tried to do anything else for her. It's a miracle she's even alive now, if Crowley hadn't stopped them when he did…"

I hear a sob and realize that Heather's started to cry.

"Don't cry," Danny whispers. "She's alive."

"Crowley's dead though," Heather chokes out.

There's a long pause, a very long pause.

"You're right, they murdered him. He was one of the brightest men we had on the team, dedicated whole-heartedly to fighting the dark and he was the only one who…"

Another long pause and suddenly it strikes me that they're talking about Tiffany's dad. I remember that he worked for the Ministry before he was murdered at the Ministry ball last weekend. I lean closer to the door and James, straining to hear the rest, but whatever Danny was mumbling remained a mystery to me.

"Heather, I think someone knows," Danny confesses suddenly.

"Of course, James and his girlfriend found out and I wouldn't be surprised if they've already told Sirius and Gracie."

I AM NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND! Why do they keep thinking that we're an item or something? So what if they found us in the kitchen together in the middle of the night? Lots of people go down to the kitchen in the middle of the night together, loads; it's perfectly normal. It means nothing, nada, zip, zero, zilch.

"I think someone on the inside, Heather, someone who knew that Crowley was involved and Sammy Thomas…"

"No," Heather gasps. "You don't think they were killed because of their involvement, do you? But Marlene McKinnon…she had nothing to do with it!"

"I'm not saying all of them, Heather, but isn't it strange that Sammy and Crowley were picked out?"

Heather's silent for a long time before her husband finally breaks the silence.

"She can't stay here, Heather. If there is someone on the inside who knew about Crowley and Thomas, it will only be a matter of time before they follow the trail back here." Danny takes a breath before adding, "Besides, they're destroying what's left of her mind with these tests. They're not making any progress. Whatever it was that the Death Eaters did to her no one seems to be able to break it."

"They might be able to…" Heather starts weakly, but Danny cuts her off.

"I think we should wait like Crowley suggested, her memory might return with due time." He pauses and then suggests, "And it might help if we send her away for a bit."

"NOT ST. MUNGO'S!" Heather screams.

"No, no, ssshhhh…" Danny seems to be calming his wife. "No, not St. Mungo's. I don't think she can take much more of that place. I was thinking of somewhere else, somewhere safer…"

"What could be safer than her own home?" Heather asks.

"Hogwarts."

I steal a look at James. The shocked expression on his face probably mirrors my own. They can't be serious. I lean against the wall, listening to Heather's responding gasp. She's just as stunned as we are. James tiptoes closer to the door, tugging on my hand. He nods toward the crack between the swinging door and the adjoining wall. I crouch a little, putting my eye to the crack. James does the same, his chin just skimming the top of my hair.

Inside I can see Danny holding an obviously shaken Heather in his arms.

"Are you mad?" Heather pulls free from his arms, stepping back.

"Think about it, Heather; she'd be under Dumbledore's watch, she'd be kept occupied and she does remember vaguely attending Hogwarts. Maybe it'll trigger some other memories…"

Heather turns her back on him, thinking it over.

"No, Danny, it won't work," she says finally, shaking her head.

"Give me one reason why it wouldn't work." He places a firm hand on her shoulder, spinning her around.

"Gracie," Heather replies.

Danny falters, he hadn't been thinking of this. Heather seems to have won this argument. How would Gracie react to this girl, who's allegedly her dead mother in teenage form? I think she'd go off the deep end. It would have been like the confrontation with James, except Gracie would probably blow her up before she even has the chance to talk. Yeah, I don't see mother/daughter bonding in the future, the family reunion is probably not a good idea.

Suddenly, Danny snaps his fingers.

"We'll disguise her."

Heather snorts and folds her arms over her chest.

"And I suppose we'll brainwash her as well, because somehow I don't see how my forty-one-year-old sister who's memory's been practically destroyed, is going to deal with classes and new faces and changes on top of all the side effects of the curse they used on her."

Again Danny is silenced by his quick-thinking wife.

"She does remember some things…mostly of her childhood, but at least she's acting like she's sixteen. That part of the therapy worked…"

"Still, Danny, you saw how quick she blew her cover to James and his girlfriend."

"_Classmate,"_ I correct her very quietly. James sniggers and I swear Danny looked briefly in the direction of the door.

"She remembers that she lived here at one point and that Gracie, Sirius, James and his girlfriend-"

"_Classmate_," I hiss. Once again James sniggers and Danny's eyes seem to mysteriously find their way back to our hiding place for a split second.

"-shouldn't be here. She keeps looking for Mark and Harry and having these break downs, because she's confused and lost and only has half her memory-"

"We don't know that for sure," Danny interrupts, but Heather keeps going.

"At least here we can keep a close eye on her - but sending her to Hogwarts…that might be a mistake," she finishes, looking at her husband seriously.

Danny sits thoughtfully in silence. Heather sits down on one of the chairs, watching and waiting for his response. I can hear James breathing beside me, and my own heavy breathing seems to come at a noisy pant. James must think I'm a rabid animal. I inhale, hold it, and let it out slow and quiet. And repeat, nice and slow, gentle and quiet. But it does no good. My breathing increases, because suddenly I'm aware of how close we are to each other. My leg tingles, obviously falling asleep, so I shift my weight to the opposite side, closer to James. Shoot! Hopefully he doesn't notice—please, please don't notice. Merlin only knows what the boy might think.

"So, what we need is another pair of eyes." Danny's voice floats through the forgotten kitchen.

Oh, damn! James is looking at me. James sees me looking at him, shit.

"Lily?" he breathes.

I can't even muster the power to respond, my throats dry, very dry, and even as I lick my lips my voice won't come.

"I think-" He stops, his eyes on my lips. "I think," he starts again, "that maybe, we should leave, before we're cau-" He falters as if forgetting the word entirely that should've ended his sentence. Inside the kitchen Danny and Heather continue to speak but James and I seem to be having a silent conversation without words or sounds.

"I have a solution to that problem."

"Oh you do, do you?"

"Yes."

James is still staring at my lips. Wow, I never noticed his eyelashes. When we're this close they're actually rather long and dark, almost in that handsome-sexy-dark-mysterious-stranger kind of way. You know, the guy every girl fantasizes about. The glasses seem to magnify the look, making him look even better.

Oh my god.

He's leaning closer to me.

Is he… He is! His hand's creeping up, he's getting too close, WAY too close. I can't move. I don't want to move…

Shut your eyes.

Step away from him.

Close your eyes!

Run, run, RUN!

I – I – I -

DO SOMETHING!

_SMACK!_

Something hits me hard, and I fly backwards. Suddenly sprawled on the floor, I look up through watering eyes at Danny. A smile seems to be teasing the corners of his mouth, and his eyes sparkle momentarily with a boyish mischief. He must've hit us with the door when he pushed it open. Damn door.

Beside me James sits up with a groan. A tiny spot of crimson stains the temple of his handsome face.

"You're bleeding," I point out the obvious.

Without thinking, I touch the cut and wipe the miniscule amount of blood carefully with the end of my sleeve.

"Thanks," James whispers, smiling.

I blush.

Danny coughs meaningfully from the doorway. I forgot he was even there. I blush again, as an embarrassed James helps me to my feet. Danny folds his arms over his chest, staring us down with what should have been a stern glare if it hadn't been for the boyish light still dancing in his bespectacled eyes.

"James, what did I tell you about eavesdropping?" he asks, glaring.

"Don't do it," James responds, but he adds quietly, "if you're going to be caught."

Danny winks at his son, holding the door open for us.

James hesitates, sending his father a quizzical glance.

"James, you must know your old man better by now. If I hadn't wanted you to over hear that, I would've put a silencing charm up."

"But- you mean-" James looks thoroughly confused as we walk into the now empty kitchen.

"Yes, I wanted you to hear that," he elaborates, ushering us into two seats.

"But why?" I blurt out, wondering if the man's lost his marbles.

"I thought you were listening." Danny smirks.

"We were…" James trails off. I steal a look at him and I swear he blushes. I turn away to hide my own flushed cheeks from his father's knowing eyes.

Nothing happened, I don't know why I'm blushing. I just got a bit distracted, that's all. He was standing way to close to me and I was planning on giving him a piece of my mind, getting ready to show him the strength of my hand.

What?

Honestly, I was!

Danny chuckles, muttering something about "young love." Let him think what he wants, see what I care. I know the truth. Potter's love is unrequited. I'm only blushing because I'm embarrassed that his dad would even think of such a thing. It has nothing to do with the fact that my hormones might have gotten the best of me for just a millisecond – all right maybe a second or two… Potter's a jerk, but I can't deny that he's a very attractive member of the opposite sex. Urgh. What am I saying? Why am I even entertaining these thoughts? Potter's a jerk, nothing less, nothing more.

Still, he's an attractive jerk. A very attractive jerk.

Don't even think about it.

I'm not!

"As I was saying before, we want to send Hope to Hogwarts."

James and I nod, having heard this absurd idea only a few minutes before.

"She'll be safer there; she'll have to take on a new identity and a disguise as well, but we think it's for the best." He goes on about the precautions he'll have to take. My mind keeps wandering though back to the boy sitting next to me. I discreetly glance in his direction, to look at the window obviously, and just happen to notice that he's in some sort of shock.

I don't blame him.

If my aunt came back from the dead, I think I'd have checked myself into St. Mungo's by now.

I grab his hand, purely for comforting and reviving purposes, and give it a squeeze. James looks over at me with the tiniest of smiles and then turns back to his father with renewed undivided attention.

"-that's where you two will come in," Danny finishes, and I realize with another stab of embarrassment that I didn't hear a word he was saying. Danny sighs, realizing that either neither of us were actually listening to him or that we have the intelligence level equivalent to that of a full-grown flobber worm.

"You're going to watch over Hope at Hogwarts. You're going to be her personal guides, the sole students that will know her true identity and what is at stake if it happens to leak out," he repeats slowly.

"Do you understand?" he asks, lowering his face so that he can look both of us in the eye.

No. But I nod anyway.

"Good, get to bed." Danny gets up, stretching out his arms with a yawn.

But James and I stay seated. Danny looks at us expectantly and then frowns.

"Um, what exactly is at stake?" James asks timidly.

Danny blinks, but his expression quickly turns from incredibility to severity.

"Our lives," he answers gravely, before sweeping out of the room, leaving both of us in a stunned silence.

I sit in the silence, letting it all sink in slowly.

Hope's alive.

Well, sort of.

And she's coming to Hogwarts, with me and James and… Gracie. A secret's been told to me, one that could destroy many lives, and the one person I'm not allowed to tell, above all others, is my best friend, who happens to be Hope's daughter.

I'm still in shock and so is James.

"James."

James is back in his own little world, or maybe he's just ignoring me. I exaggerate a yawn, nudge him with my shoulder, unintentionally of course, and tell him I'm going to bed. James ignores me.

I stand up and get all the way to the door before I change my mind. I retrace my steps, taking his hand and gently tugging on it. He looks up at me and wordlessly gets to his feet. He towers over me, and for an instant I wonder what it would feel like if I suddenly pulled him to me and kissed him. What if I had followed through with that moment outside the kitchen? This thought obviously doesn't linger long, I mean honestly, it's big-headed Potter but sometimes I wonder if he has a split personality and if it would be possible to separate the two…

"It's New Year's Day, did you know that?" he asks suddenly.

I shake my head because I lost track of the days long ago. It seems like years ago when we left the station with a grumbling Tiffany who still had a father.

"It doesn't feel like it," I whisper, remembering the lousy Christmas I spent playing chess with James and Sirius and the funeral, which obviously put a damper on things.

"No, it doesn't," James agrees, distantly.

I watch as his face takes on a look of nostalgia, his eyes suddenly far away.

"My aunt used to throw a big bash on New Year's Eve. She said that the last and first day of the year were to be celebrated because you had a chance to recall all the good times of the previous year and start off the new year right," he reminiscences with a smile.

"One year she convinced our parents to portkey us all to Times Square."

"You went to Times Square?" I ask. Times Square was someplace in America, New York, I think. Supposedly they have this huge Muggle rally where everyone stands around and watches a ball blow up or something.

"No," James chuckles. "My aunt forgot about the millions of Muggles that were going to be there. She then decided that she was going to take us to some American magical settlement, Salem. When we got there though, there seemed to be some mistake. They laughed at us when she said she was looking for the Witching Hour and told us that Halloween was two months ago, but they were more than happy to redirect us to the Witch's Museum…"

James and I laugh realizing where he's headed with this. Salem, Massachusetts is famous for being one of the oldest magical establishments in the States and infamous for their ridiculous Muggles. The laughter dies quickly though, as the gravity of the situation weighs down upon us once more.

Someone that was dead yesterday is now alive today and neither one of us have any idea how it happened or how to handle it.

"What the bloody hell am I supposed to do?" James shakes his head, running a frustrated hand through his untidy hair.

I step toward him, closing the space between us. I ponder his gorgeous eyes, thinking of how easy it would be to take off his glasses and place them on the kitchen table. My eyes move to his lips, but I carefully redirect my gaze, knowing that when we're back at school he won't be the same. He won't give a damn about me.

Even so, I'm driven by some unexplainable instinct. Perhaps it's maternal, or maybe it's just hormones. I hug him. His chin moves to the top of my head, his hands finding my back and then sliding down to my waist. I close my eyes and let it linger.

"We'll figure something out," I assure him.

"I know," he sighs, stroking my hair. "Thank you."

And then he lets go.

I step back and stare at him. I'm always amazed at how different James looks each time I take a good look at him. He seems to be growing up, and yet I keep holding onto that childish image of the pervert who'd stare and feel me up beneath the desk; the boy that was so full of himself that I used to believe that he really wouldn't fit through the door, the boy that asked me out a hundred times, the boy who's still secretly present and will reappear once we get to Hogwarts, the boy that I can't forget.

"Come on, let's get some rest," I whisper, touching his arm.

"Yeah." He nods with a forced smile.

We head upstairs, only stopping at the top of the staircase where we go our separate ways.

"Well… Goodnight," I say awkwardly.

"Goodnight," James echoes softly.

We stay where we are, locked in place as if by some invisible force.

"Shoot," James mutters.

"What?" I ask alarmed.

"We can't move."

I realize he's right. No matter where I step, I can't go anywhere. There's _literally_ an invisible wall boxing me in. I suppress the wave of panic that rises in my chest, especially when I notice that the only way I can go, James is blocking.

"James, please step aside."

"I can't, Lily," he says with an exasperated sigh.

"Why not?" I ask through gritted teeth, my hands clenching at my sides.

"Because… Can't you see it?" James asks, looking at me as if I'm an idiot. "We've stepped into an Imobilia Charm," he explains.

"I understand that, but what is it doing here?" I ask suspiciously.

"Sirius and I…"

I knew it. He's so guilty of the stupid trap. It's probably another one of his pranks that he forgot about. Ha! Serves him right, at least it'll backfire on him as well. What a pity, though, that I had to be another poor victim of one of his many thoughtless jokes. These Marauders, they'll never grow up!

"I didn't think it worked, but apparently…" James trails off with a nervous laugh, his eyes refusing to meet my steady glare.

"Just get us out of here," I say, swallowing the urge to scold him. It won't do us any good here. We might wake Gracie, Sirius or Merlin forbid, his parents again. I can only imagine how James and I might explain ourselves.

"It's tricky, you see there's this _catch_…" Again the nervous laugh, and the eyes moving to look at anything but me.

"James, just do it!" I blurt.

"Are you sure?" James asks hesitantly, looking at me for the first time.

"Hurry up!" I moan, knowing that the longer we stay out here, the more chance we have of getting caught in this embarrassing position.

"All right, but you have to promise not to get mad…" James places his hands on my shoulders, lowering his face to my level.

"James, will you just-!" I stop abruptly, realizing that he's leaning swiftly toward me, zeroing in on my lips. His right hand's moved from my shoulder, cupping my face with experienced fingers, a practiced, barely evident, caress on my cheek.

"Don't move," he whispers.

As if I could move.

I can barely breathe.

"James…" I protest automatically, but the name falls weak and faint from my lips. I lick my lips, and try again to form the words that will push him away.

But whatever it is that I want to say, I immediately forget. James closes the distance between us, his lips silencing me, driving everything and anything out of my head. My eyes instinctively flutter shut and tentatively I return the kiss. His hand wanders from my cheek, tangling itself in my hair. At the feel of his fingers brushing nape of my neck, a pleasant shiver runs the length of my spine, and I shudder against his chest.

"Lily," James groans and releases me suddenly.

I sway on my feet, and stagger clumsily backwards into the opposite wall. Only then do I open my eyes and look up at him in shock. He watches me, a silent struggle going on in the twitch of his mouth and the hesitant step he takes in my direction.

Slowly I lift a trembling hand to my lips.

"You kissed me," I realize.

I lean against the wall, still dazed from the kiss.

My _first_ kiss.

"Look Lily, I'm-" James steps toward me, but suddenly a tinkling sound and a sparkle near James's ear catches our attention and stops him in his tracks. I watch as with a flurry of sparks, something attached to the ceiling crumbles and flutters to the floor between us. The plant shrivels and dies, blackening and burning with the last of the sparks. James steps on it, distinguishing the small fire with a quick stamp of his slipper. I inhale sharply.

_Mistletoe_.

He shoves his hands into his pockets and looks at the floor.

"I'm – I'm sorry," he apologizes with a slight stammer. "Look, Lily I-"

He reaches for me, jarring me out of whatever mysterious trance I've fallen into. I slip out of his grasp and run.

I don't stop until I reach my room with the door safely shut behind me. Breathing heavily, I lean against it, closing my eyes, a trembling hand returning again and again to my sensitive lips.

He kissed me.

James Potter _kissed_ me.

And I…I think I actually…_liked_ it…

What the bloody hell is the matter with me?

I groan, silently slamming my head against the door repeatedly. Somebody check me into St. Mungo's Insanity Ward. There has to be something wrong with my head. Please, help me! I'm losing my mind!

I slide down to the floor, pulling my knees to my chest.

This isn't supposed to happen to me.

I'm not supposed like it when he kisses me.

I hate him.

Remember?

He's almost always a jerk, a handsome heartbreaker, an attractive pervert who happens to be currently obsessed with me…

What's happening to me?

What's wrong with me?

I bury my face into my hands and shut my eyes tight.

"I hate him."

**A/N: Thank you to my lovely beta Danielle for the amazing job she did editing my fourth grade level grammar. Without her, this would not be readable. Thank you to all of you that brought a smile to my face and helped improve my writing with a review. It's almost one in the morning now and I still have to pack so I'll leave you with this and hope that I'll be back soon.**


	20. Disguised

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Hope belongs to me and any other insane tendencies you might recognize in the characters. _

**Chapter 19: Disguised**

Light creeps into the room, crawling along the floor and splashing across the walls. I pull the only sheet that survived my restless night, up over my face in a weak attempt to fend off the blinding glare of the sun's merciless rays.

I forgot to shut the shade again.

Rolling over I stare up at the ceiling, which is now a brighter shade of white than when I last looked at it, ten minutes ago. Or was it ten seconds ago?

I have no idea.

All I know is even if I was tired - which I'm not - I wouldn't be able to sleep because I didn't think that I would need sunglasses in the middle of winter, so I didn't bring any. I don't even know if I own a pair of sunglasses. I think Alice stepped on my last pair…

I stuff my face in the pillow, hiding from my sunny fiend.

Maybe I'm a vampire.

Hey, you know, that's not such a crazy idea. I'm pale. My eyes can't handle the light. I was up ALL night and I still can't sleep. And it would explain why I actually liked it when James Potter kissed me.

I want his blood.

But wait...

Wouldn't I be like, dead? No, I'm already dead. I would be, um, suffering? Ugh, don't they teach us anything in Defense Against the Dark Arts? Oh wait, they don't. Never mind.

I throw back the flimsy sheet, letting it join the many other tangled and rumpled bed sheets and quilts that now carpet the floor, ringing around my bed. Once upon a time they were part of my bed, but I tossed and turned all night and apparently kicked off the entire bed spread.

Nice going.

I make up the bed quickly, thinking of how nice a shower would be. Yes, a shower, that's exactly what I need. The hot water will wash all these thoughts out of my silly deranged mind and cleanse me of any germs which I might have contracted from his many ex-girlfriends, which happen to include, the banshee. I think. I can't remember. When was the last time James had a girlfriend? When was the last time I even saw him flirting with another girl?

Stepping out of the shower, I think of how disturbing it is that I can't remember the answers to these questions. James Potter used to be a womanizer, a "player" as I heard Tiffany once giggle. Correction; he still is. I just don't pay attention to him enough, that's all. I mean, he's a jerk, why would I ever think about him, or care whether he had five girlfriends or five hundred? Well, he just kissed me and that would be disgusting if he'd had five hundred other girls who kissed him. That'd be like a breeding farm for deadly epidemics.

I shudder.

See, I had an excellent excuse for thinking about James's ex-girlfriends. Now if only I could figure out why I actually enjoyed the stupid kiss.

I dress quickly and check myself out in the mirror. I am awfully pale. Perhaps I am a vampire…

It just doesn't make any sense. Why would I like kissing him?

Maybe it was because it was my first kiss.

Or maybe Sirius and James placed love enchantments on it to make the girl enjoy the kiss! That's it. That has to be it. It's nothing more than a – erm - kissing love charm. I'll look it up when I get back to school and then I'll get revenge.

Perhaps I'll spare Sirius, but only if I'm in a really good mood.

Smiling, I hop down the last step and enter the kitchen. The clinking of silverware and the soft murmur of conversation pauses as I enter the room. Four pairs of eyes meet mine momentarily before returning with a nod of greeting or a small smile to the mundane tasks of the morning. But two hazel eyes refuse to look away.

James.

My breath hitches and hurriedly I lower my eyes.

I whisper a good morning, pretending as if James doesn't exist, and slip into the seat between my best friend and her Uncle, directly across from James. Stupid, stupid me. Now I have to look at him. Or maybe I can just sit here rearranging my silverware until I can figure out a way to get the juice, or even the plate of pancakes, which just so happen to be within his reach, but out of mine.

His eyes are still on me. I can feel them burning into my forehead. My cheeks flame.

I'm blushing.

Oh for Merlin's sake Lily, this is pathetic.

"Jam-Gracie can you please pass the juice." I mentally curse myself for the blunder, as Gracie shoots me a puzzled look before slowly passing me the juice.

I fill my glass and then hand it back to Gracie, who puts it back, but again shoots me another look because it would've been easier to have given it to James.

"J-Sirius can you please pass me the pancakes," I ask Sirius politely.

Gracie stares at me as if I've grown an extra head, noting again that James is within reach but Sirius is not. Sirius though, apparently notices nothing. He hands the plate over to James and I watch as the plate moves slowly from Sirius's hands to James's.

"Thank you," I say stiffly, holding out my hands for the plate. James hands me it, our hands brushing. I feel a spark and the same shiver run the length of my spine. My eyes snap to his, and James's eyes widen. I yank the plate away, and hurriedly pile as many pancakes as I can on my plate. Anything, to avoid his eyes. I figure that maybe if I make a high enough stack I won't have to look at him and those gorgeous hazel eyes.

A chair scrapes across the floor and I feel the table tremble as someone gets to their feet.

"Are you done already James?" Heather asks her son worriedly.

"Yeah," James mumbles.

I watch from behind my leaning tower of pancakes as James gathers up his plate and glass. I sneak a peek at his face. Again our eyes meet. James' hand fumbles with the glass.

_CRASH!_

"Oh dear!" Heather gasps clapping a hand to her mouth. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." James disappears, retrieving the shattered pieces in a moment's time. His father lazily whips out his wand, and summons the trash can so he can dump them inside. Red faced with embarrassment, James hurries off to the kitchen with his plate clutched firmly in both hands and the trash can in tow.

"The boy never gets enough sleep." Heather shakes her head with a sigh.

Danny quietly snickers behind _The Daily Prophet_, lowering it just enough so that he can wink at me as he turns the page. My cheeks flush and I quickly dig into my pancakes.

Underneath the table someone kicks my ankle. I wince and look up sharply.

"Can you please pass the pancakes?" Gracie asks pointedly.

I hand her the plate of pancakes, which she passes on untouched to Sirius. But I notice the look on her face screaming "We need to talk."

Oh, goody. I'm looking forward to it.

Best friends as you know can be dangerous, especially when they tell you "we need to talk". Because it translates to "you're keeping something from me and I know it and you're going to tell me or I'm going to forcefully extract it from your very soul."

I happen to be keeping two secrets from Gracie.

One, I got my first kiss, from her cousin.

And two, I met her mom last night, who happens to be not only very much alive, but living under the same roof, in the form of a teenage girl who's had half her memory blown to smithereens by evil people. And oh yeah, she's coming to Hogwarts, in disguise, and James and I, we're her secret keepers.

Oh yes, I am looking forward to best friend time. First she'll tease me mercilessly and then she'll go into cardiac arrest, kill me, or force Danny and Heather to kill me for letting the secret out. Joy.

"Lily?"

I lift my head and look past Gracie into Heather's concerned face.

"Are you feeling all right?" she asks in full maternal mode.

"Ye-"

"You're looking a bit ill." She reaches over Gracie, pressing a hand to my forehead. Worriedly, she takes my face into both of my hands, as if inspecting me for any further sign of fever or illness.

"Your face feels warm."

Um, maybe that's because everyone's staring at me, and Gracie and Sirius are silently, but obviously laughing at me.

"I'm-"

"You're very pale," she continues, dropping her hands.

I'm always pale, white happens to be the color of my skin.

"And I think you could use some rest, you look as if you didn't sleep at all last night."

Thanks to your son.

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap?" she advises, gently patting one of my hands.

I open my mouth to protest, but Gracie kicks me hard underneath the table.

"Just humor her, trust me," she mouths. Sitting across from her, Sirius catches my eye and nods vigorously.

Helplessly, I close my mouth and get up from my seat. I hesitate, looking mournfully down at my plate of practically untouched pancakes.

"But I didn't finish ea-"

"AL GEEET ET!" Sirius says between mouthfuls. I assume that this translates to "I'll eat it." or something along those lines because he snatches the plate out of my reach, despite the whole pancake he still has on his own syrup filled plate.

"Sirius you didn't even finish-" Gracie stops suddenly because Sirius swallows the last pancake whole. She makes a face as Sirius dumps the pancakes off of my plate, onto his and then bathes them in another downpour of syrup.

Disgusted, I feel my stomach churn and wonder vaguely if Heather's observations were true. Perhaps I really am sick. Maybe I was sick last night, and that's why my senses were, still are, out of control.

"Sirius," Gracie sighs.

Sirius instantly looks up, puzzled.

"Wha?" he asks giving us a mouthful, literally.

Gracie looks at him, and then shakes her head bemusedly, turning her attention back to her own unfinished breakfast.

I slip out of the kitchen, more than happy to head upstairs after losing my appetite entirely. I think I might skip lunch and dinner after witnessing Sirius' eating habits. It's no wonder James has no manners, check out his best friend.

Speaking of Sirius, I plan on having a very long talk with Grace about the sudden change in her relationship with our manner-lacking friend.

"_We need to talk_."

I think she's the one that needs to start talking.

I laugh quietly and open the door.

A nap sounds like a good idea actually, my bed's looking rather appealing since the weariness seems to be returning and Potter's been temporarily absent from my thoughts. I spoke too soon.

There's someone already occupying the bed.

"HEY!" I glare at Hope, who's sprawled across my bed.

Hope props herself up on an elbow with a lazy grin.

"Hello, _Lily_." She tilts her head, looking over the side of the bed at something. I frown, following her gaze to a pair of…legs?

"LIL – OW!"

The bed jolts and I hear a few muffled swears. The legs start wriggling, and suddenly I see an arse (a very good looking one) a back, shoulders, arms and finally, James Potter's head full of untidy hair, now complete with a collection of dust bunnies, as he climbs out from underneath the bed.

"JAMES!" I gasp.

"Hi, Lily," James laughs nervously, running a hand through his dusty hair.

Impulsively, I reach down and brush the dust from his hair. It's not a very becoming look. There, that's better. His hair's surprisingly soft considering the fact that it won't lie flat, and it really is black, not dark brown, but silky, midnight black…

Hope giggles and I notice that James's eyes have a kind of glazed look.

I realize that I'm still petting James like an animal in a petting zoo and that there isn't a speck of dust left in his hair. So cleverly covering my mishap, I angrily hit him upside the head.

"What were you doing under my bed?" I bark, straightening up and crossing my arms over my chest.

James rubs his head, staring up at me through a cloud of confusion, as if dazed. My already red face heats up.

"James? JAMES!" I crouch down in front of him, slapping his cheek lightly.

"What?" he asks, coming to himself.

"I asked you a question," I hiss, standing up again, giving him my best glare. You know that one that makes everyone cower in fear and drop dead? Yeah, that's the one. Well, at least that's what's supposed to happen, but I think it needs a little more tweaking because James is still very much alive and Hope is clearly laughing at me.

"What are you doing in my room anyway?" I ask, whirling on her suddenly.

"Ha ha. First of all this isn't your room, is it Lily?" Hope grins as my mouth snaps shut.

"Well, it is the room that Heather gave me for the week, and don't I have a right to some privacy?" I ask, after a moment's hesitation.

Hope's grin never falters but she shrugs and turns her attention to her wand which she's twirling between her fingertips like I've seen Gracie do many times before.

"I'd like to know what Hope was doing in here too." James rises to his feet beside me, crossing his arms and glaring at Hope. James turns to me, nodding angrily, as if agreement, even though I'm still mad at him, no matter how cute and ridiculous he looked with a wig of dust bunnies.

"That's why I came in here Lily," James explains drawing himself up to his full height. "I was on my way to my room."

His room happens to be on the other side of the hall, on the opposite side of the staircase from mine.

"And I just happened to notice that the door was open and that Hope was snooping around. And then she attacked me!" he finishes.

Oh, I'm sure.

"I hardly call disarming someone who sneaks up on you while your back's turned an attack," Hope snorts.

"What were you doing under my bed then?" I ask James, confused.

"Oh, I erm… kind of lost my wand when she disarmed me," he mumbles staring down at his feet. "I can't find it…" He sends Hope a murderous glare, which only causes her to giggle.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake James. _Accio James's wand_!" Hope flicks her wand, and it zooms out from underneath the bed and hits James's head, before she catches it.

"Here." She tosses it back to him, and James, more than a little embarrassed, refuses to look at me as he shoves it back into his pocket.

"Now, can you tell me why you're here?" I ask Hope politely.

_POP_!

James and I jump and wheel around. Heather had apparated into the room behind us.

"Hello Hope, Lily, oh and good, James came too." She smiles and hastily locks my door and shuts it. "This will be easier than I expected." I note that she's not surprised at all to find James and Hope with me.

"I'm feeling better," I tell her.

"Oh, I'm sorry Lily," Heather laughs. "I had to get the three of you together somehow. The old mothering ploy is the oldest trick in the book, but for some reason it always works." Heather winks knowingly at her son. "Now scoot." Hope reluctantly sits up and moves over as Heather ushers James and I onto the bed beside her.

"I don't want Gracie and Sirius to get suspicious, so listen carefully, you hear me?" she instructs us.

"Wait, we can't tell Sirius?" James asks his mother hesitantly. Apparently, James does not know the definition of a secret.

"No, James. The less people that know about this, the better," Heather answers sadly.

"You don't trust him." James bristles, and I feel him stiffen beside me. "He's not like them," he continues, defending Sirius's honor.

A Gryffindor of six years, you would never know that Sirius Black actually came from a long line of pureblooded Slytherin maniacs. I can recall at the beginning of our first year when many pureblooded and halfblooded Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs feared Sirius, merely because of his last name. I suspect that even James and Remus had trouble overcoming their prejudices in the early weeks of our first year but they quickly became friends, doing away with these false prejudices and making sure that everyone else did so as well.

"James, you know that's not true," his mother replies quietly. She meets her son's fierce gaze steadily, with a fire of her own. James quickly lowers his eyes, ashamed. Her face softens and she touches his shoulder. "I know he's trustworthy James, he's like a son to me. You and Lily accidentally found out, that's the only reason why you know about her and why you're here. Trust me, it's safer this way." She touches his cheek and turns away.

"You know, I'm sitting right here," Hope butts in, clearing her throat.

"I know Hope, I'm aware of that," Heather sighs, smiling fondly at her sister before turning back to me and James. "Hope take a look at these two."

Hope looks at us suspiciously, and Heather's smile widens.

"They're going to be your closest friends. You're going to be spending a lot of time with them," Heather breaks the news.

"What?" Hope gasps.

"No!" I protest thinking about James and the kiss that I shouldn't have enjoyed, but I did.

"She's mean to me!" James whines, glaring at Hope who smirks.

"I thought you three got along," Heather says puzzled, eyeing each of us individually. "Never mind that though, you guys are going to have to put up with each other. Hope, you're going to Hogwarts with them."

"I'm going to Hogwarts?" Hope's jaw drops.

"Yes." Heather nods.

Hope sits in shock.

"Really?" she asks softly, after what seems like several minutes of silence.

"Of course."

Hope's face breaks into a smile and she jumps up, throwing her arms around her sister.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Hope squeals. Heather grins and hugs her tightly. Her grin droops and fades as she kisses Hope's head, and pulls her closer. Her eyes shimmer and a lone tear treks down her cheek.

Hope lets go and starts dancing around the room, rambling about her new things that will be needed and the expected trip to Diagon Alley. Heather swipes at her eyes, wiping the last remnants of tears from her face. Smile back in place, she grabs Hope and gently pushes her back down onto the bed beside James.

"We're going to have to skip the trip to Diagon Alley, I'm afraid."

"Oh." Hope's smile falters.

"But you'll be returning this week, with a whole new look," Heather adds with a secret smile.

"You mean like a makeover?" Hope asks hopefully.

"Kind of…" Heather catches my eye and my heart sinks.

We're going to disguise her.

**Sometime Later...**

_Snip_.

_Snip_.

_Snip_.

Several locks of black hair drift lazily to the floor. Hope fidgets, brushing some hair from her arms. She leans to the left, shifting in the makeshift salon chair in an attempt to glimpse her reflection in the mirror. I grab her shoulders and force her back into her seat.

"Not until I'm finished," I scold, pulling a comb through her hair.

Hope groans, but patiently endures the immobility for about three seconds. Then she has to scratch her nose.

"Don't make me put a binding charm on you, because I will," I threaten, straightening her head and pushing the hand back down.

"No you won't." Hope smirks.

"Yes, she will," James corrects her, tossing aside an ancient copy of _Quidditch Today_. He's taken Hope's former position, sprawled across _my_ bed. Out of the corner of his eye, I notice him watching me. It's bad enough my hands are shaking to begin with, I don't need the added stress of Potter checking me out. Tiffany was always the one who did the hair and makeup, hell, even Alice was better at this than me, and she always managed to screw up something. So why am I the one who Heather put in charge of Hope's disguise?

_Snip. _

_Snip._

"Stop moving!" I yell frustrated, as I very nearly cut her ear off.

"_Lily_…" Hope whines. "Can't we use magic instead? Please?" she begs.

"Unless you want to be bald, I suggest you shut up and let me do it the way I know how!" I snap.

James chuckles.

"You too," I tell him blushing.

_Snip._

_Snip._

"Hope… sit … STILL! _PETRI_-"

"ALL RIGHT!"

Hope stops squirming and sits back in the chair. Now that she's not moving, I'm able to finish up the hair cut quickly and make sure it's even. I put down the scissors and reach for the comb one last time.

"Pick a color."

Hope thinks for a moment.

"Pink."

I smile, muttering a spell under my breath, before shoving my wand back in my pocket.

"Okay you can look now," I tell her.

Hope jumps up from the chair, racing for the mirror. She stands there with her jaw unhinged and her eyes big and wide.

"My hair!" she gasps. "It's-it's-it's PINK!"

James sniggers, and we exchange a grin.

"Pink looks good on you, it brings out your eyes." I smirk.

"Definitely," James agrees.

Hope continues to stare at her hair in the mirror, testing the new length and look with her hands and a few model worthy pivots and turns. She tears her eyes from the glass, facing us.

"I like it," she decides fluffing it with her fingers.

"Hope, we were joking," I explain, since she obviously missed that fact.

"You look like the pink panther," James says ever so nicely. Typical Potter, you can always count on him for the very best compliments.

"What's wrong with that?" Hope asks, eyeing her reflection again.

"You'd draw too much attention to yourself." With a flick of my wand her hair changes to red.

"I like it," James says immediately, nodding.

Hope though, has other ideas.

"No!" She shakes her head with a pout. "Anything but red."

"Hey! I happen to love red hair!" James glares at her.

"Exactly, I'd be drawing even more attention to myself if I had you staring at me all the time, I mean look at the way you stare at Lily's hair, it's as if she has you hypnotized-"

"Enough!" I interrupt before she can finish the sentence. Hastily I change the color, this time to blonde, but it seems to have gone wrong because it's strawberry blonde.

"Perfect," Hope says.

And it is.

There's no way that anyone could possibly suspect that she's actually Gracie's twin in looks. Well except for a few minor details on her face and her posture and the way she acts, but you would only be able to notice it if you scrutinized the two of them and watched them closely. Which I'm hoping won't happen, unless of course we have a mad stalker on her hands, highly improbable but you never know.

James whistles.

"Looking good."

But he's not looking at Hope, he's looking at me.

"Put your eyes back in your socket!" I snap at him.

I duck my head, busying myself with the clean up job so he won't notice the red blush painting my cheeks.

Footsteps draw dangerously close to where I stand, and suddenly a shadow passes over me. I don't dare look up. I know the hands that suddenly join mine on the bedside table, I even recognize the sound of his unhurried footfall, slowing and stopping right beside me.

"Here, let me help you," he says smoothly in my ear, his hand brushing my arm as he reaches for the scissors.

"No!" I say too quickly and much too loudly. "I mean, no, I've got it covered James," I insist in what I hope is a more casual voice.

Hurriedly, I gather up the various instruments that Heather kindly provided me with to carry out Hope's "makeover". Among these is an ancient sea shell comb that can't be less than one-hundred-years old, what might be a dagger (okay, that's really scary) and a…fork? What does she expect me to do with this? The magical world has some rather odd preconceived notions of the muggle world.

My hand's are shaking again as I struggle to gather them up before James has the opportunity to pick up a single item. (I don't trust him with the fork or that um dagger thing) So of course I was going to drop something, I just didn't expect to drop all of them.

"Oh," I whisper staring down at the mess I've created.

I look at James and then stoop to pick them up. James kneels beside me as I scramble about on all fours like a mad niffler going after the shiny objects. My hand closes over the jagged sea shell comb. Correction: my hand closes over one of the many fragments of the now shattered family heirloom.

Oh, shit.

I broke the thousand year old shell. I broke one of the Potter's treasured possessions.

Mess forgotten I sit back with my head in my hands. What if that was an antique? It had to be worth something. For all I know that might be their most prized possession, something in the family for centuries, a belonging of their great-great-great-great-great-great-great –

"Lily," James gently pulls my hand away from my face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I blurt out an apology, meeting his eyes for a millisecond before looking back down at the ruined possession.

"It's okay Lily." James pats me on the back awkwardly at first before progressing to rubbing in slow circles. He scoots closer, draping his arm around me.

Wait a minute.

Wait just a minute!

I know where this is going. You can't pull the wool over my eyes Mr. Potter. So I lay my head down on his shoulder, playing the damsel in distress, but I'm doing this not because I'm an idiot, or because I might actually like the feeling of Potter's arm around me. I'm only playing along because I just broke a sea shell that might be worth millions of galleons and I don't want him to get mad, because I'm sure it was extremely important to him, very important. He's upset, distraught, his life is over. That's the only reason why I'm letting him hold me, I swear.

"What's the matter?"

I look up into Hope's puzzled face. I guess I forgot that she was still in the room. During the time that James and I were playing hot potato, Hope had taken the opportunity to tie her hair back in an elegant knot, which obviously required a charm or two. I bet she did it just to show me up for cutting her hair the _muggle_ way.

"I broke it." I open my hands, revealing the shattered fragments of the sea shell comb.

"That's all?" Hope asks.

I sniff and nod.

Hope giggles.

I frown, unsure of what to make of her crazy laughter. Maybe she's deranged. Perhaps blinded by the grief found in the loss of her beloved possession, she might attack me. James glares at her, his arm tightening around me. Aw how sweet he's protecting me from the maniac.

"Oh, honestly! You're such _muggles_. _Reparo!_" With a roll of her eyes and a swish of her wand, the sea shell comb in my hands is suddenly whole again.

I stare at her, stunned.

Now why couldn't I have thought of that?

"How did you do that?" James gasps.

I'm not buying it.

"Thanks Hope, I guess I lost it for a moment," I laugh, covering up my mortifying embarrassment. Hello, I'm Lily Evans! You know the girl who's at the top of her N.E.W.T. level Charms class. Yes, I definitely lost it.

Hope smiles knowingly and I hastily lift my head up off James' shoulder and distance myself from him. It's not like that. I was just - I only wanted… Well, at least I _thought_ that I might be getting in trouble for breaking an ancient valuable Potter artifact, but obviously I was wrong and this is not at all what Hope assumes it to be. See, I'm moving away from him, or I would be, if James would move his heavy arm from my shoulder. Honestly, it's like lead. The boy's got incredible muscles.

I did not just say that.

I clear my throat meaningfully, hoping that James will get the message. He doesn't of course. He's so thick headed. I cough loudly and James looks at me.

"Something bothering you Lily?" James asks, watching my fruitless attempts to move out from under his Quidditch enhanced arm. A smile teases at the corner of his lips as if he knows everything going through my head right now. Oh, if only he knew, he'd be snogging me senseless if he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

DON'T START.

I don't like Potter.

I don't.

He's just nice to look at.

Really nice to look at.

Okay, I can't think of anyone else that's better looking, but that doesn't mean I like him.

Right?

"Lily?" James asks.

I blink, coming abruptly out of my reverie.

"Something wrong?" He asks again.

Yes something's very wrong. I _like_ you.

No I don't.

Yes you do.

SHUT UP!

I don't.

You do.

DO NOT.

"DO TOO!"

I clap a hand over my mouth realizing what I just said, out loud. I blush furiously as James's brow wrinkles with concern and Hope quirks an eyebrow. They exchange a quick glance and then James lifts his free hand and touches my forehead.

"Are you all right?" he asks, concerned.

My face heats up under his warm hand.

"I'm fine," I squeak, impatiently brushing his hands away. Honestly, what's the matter with me? One kiss and suddenly I'm turning into this swooning fan girl.

"You know Lily," Hope says with mock seriousness. "You don't have to be upset, it's okay, really. The sea shell comb was _only_ three hundred years old."

"Shut up," I grumble, retrieving the scattered objects that I dropped.

"It was supposedly a gift from a Persian Prince, to my great-great Grandmother, but it's not big deal," she continues with a careless wave of her hand, adding, "these things can be replaced but DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

I jump back as Hope, now back in Maniac! Mode, dives off the bed, lunging for the object which I nervously let fall from my fingers. She catches it in her hands, cradling it as if she were holding Pandora's Box – something so powerful that it could contain such terrifying evil or potential worldwide salvation. She opens her hands and James and I both crane our heads to steal a peek at what should've been a jewel, or an evil pair of dark magic scissors, or a charmed comb, but what turned out to be the boring rusty old dagger.

Hope too looks almost disappointed, or relieved, as if it wasn't what she had originally thought it was and she wasn't sure if this pleased her or not. She smiles sadly and holds the dagger up for us to see.

"This on the other hand, could never be replaced," she says quietly as she slowly gets to her feet and gingerly replaces it on the dresser.

I look at James, having found nothing extraordinarily special about the dagger, unless it was another one of those foreign exchange gifts, which part of me thinks Hope is just inventing for her own amusement. Why would Heather give me something valuable to cut Hope's hair with?

"Mental," James mouths, and I nod in agreement.

"It's very old, older than the sea shell comb by several hundred years. You see, it belonged to one of the founders."

"Founders of what? White Castle?" James whispers.

I bite back a laugh.

"No!" Hope glares at James. "It belonged to one of the four founders of Hogwarts," she explains, running her hands over the blade.

"Who told you that?" James wants to know, his eyes narrowing despite the unquenchable curiosity burning eternally, deep within their hazel depths.

"My brother Harry," Hope answers angrily but her expression softens quickly. "He collected this kind of stuff, or maybe it's been in the Moon family for centuries, because I'm sure we're descended from someone, Gryffindor probably or perhaps Ravenclaw. Harry used to tell me all the stories, silly folk lore some say, but Harry, he loved that kind of stuff..." She smiles reminiscing, her hand still uncomfortably close to that dagger.

I pat my pocket, wondering vaguely where I put my wand. Hope suddenly grabs the dagger, turning and brandishing it in our faces. James emits a girlish squeak, and I practically do a backwards somersault.

"So, don't play with any swords!" she warns us with a threatening grin. Then she laughs noticing that she just scared the living daylights out of us and that I can't breathe properly because I almost got my eyes taken out by one of the Hogwarts founder's playthings. She lowers the rusty little dagger, hops over us, and skips out of the room.

James scrambles to his feet and tiptoes to the doorway.

"Is she gone?" I ask, shakily getting to my feet.

James holds up a hand.

I listen and wait. Finally a door shuts somewhere and I hear James breathe a sigh of relief. I fall back onto the bed and James shuts the door.

"Lock it." I find myself saying.

"Good idea," James agrees, locking it.

He sits down on the edge of the bed, staring at the opposite wall. I look up at the ceiling, thinking the same thing that he is.

"She's nuts," James says finally, voicing the thoughts that are going through my head. "I think she's really Ophelia Lovegood's mother, not Gracie's."

"Stop it," I admonish him, though I can't help but giggle. "Ophelia's not that crazy." James looks at me with raised eyebrows. We start to laugh and neither of us can stop. Hope Adams, smart, funny, top Auror, has come back in sixteen-year-old form and has lost her mind completely. It's not funny, or at least it's not supposed to be, but in times like these when you actually start to get used to these things, or maybe it's the fact that we aren't yet, everything seems like a bad joke.

A few minutes later the two of us are lying on the bed, our laughter dead as quickly as it was born. Our eyes are on the ceiling and our arms are touching, and we're in the midst of a silence that's so unbearably awkward but at the same time so comfortably content. But this is how it's always been between James and I. A series of sharp contrasts juxtaposed, a push and a pull, one step back, two steps forward, a repulsion and an attraction.

"James," I whisper.

"Yeah."

I stare up at the ceiling, tracing each barely visible crack in my mind. I hear the soft creak of the springs as James inches closer to me. A whiff of his intoxicating cologne drifts my way and I can see his face hovering close to mine. My eyes flutter shut. I inhale sharply, breathing the poison which muddles my brain like that time the drinks got mixed up at my cousins wedding and I ended up with a vodka mixture instead of my ginger ale. I was giggly and drunk, feeling nothing at all, until an hour or so later when a killer head ache hit and I threw up all over Petunia's brand new dress. I have to admit though, that moment was so worth it. You should've seen her face.

"What Lily?" James asks softly, lowering his face.

He's like the vodka; forbidden, illegal, off limits to me. I know that if I took a chance with him I'd only end up with a killer hangover and a broken heart full of regrets. I'm smart. I've known Potter for the last six years and I know that he doesn't stay with girls for more than a week. So why am I even thinking of these things? Is it that maybe, just maybe, there's a tiny part of me that's willing, longing, to take that risk because that one week might be worth it? Many people drink, and they get My-heads-going-to-split-open-and-I'm-never-going-to-drink-again hangovers, but they always return to the bottle and do it all over again. Everyone falls in love. And everyone falls hard and gets hurt and broken, but they always heal and they always get back up and fall head first again.

So why is it that I can't bring myself to have just a little fling with Potter? I mean, I know what's coming, I'll be ready for it, won't I? There can't be that much to it. Merlin knows he's interested, and it would stop all those annoying invitations to Hogsmeade and all the stalkerish behavior which has made me OFF LIMITS to any other guy in the wizarding world. Actually, it's not a bad idea. I'm attracted to him and he's attracted to me. Once we get it out of our systems, I think things will smooth over and I can go back to having a semi-normal life without Potter.

"Lily?"

I open my eyes to James's face and my heart quickens as I think of what I'm about to do. My hands though seem frozen at my side and James seems hesitant and puzzled as if the thought hadn't even crossed his mind and if it had it probably had been stopped by one of my infamous slaps which had left more than one bruise or mark on his body.

"You okay?"

I shake my head slowly.

Do it, a voice whispers inside my head as an imaginary hand gives me a hard mental shove in James's direction.

Do it NOW.

I lift my head slowly, lick my lips nervously and then…

I lose my nerve entirely.

I chicken out.

Six years of Gryffindor, and all that brave courage which I'm supposed to be strengthening amounted to nothing. I should've been in Ravenclaw. That lousy, ugly sorting hat. Maybe I'll ask for a transfer… Somehow I don't see that going over too well with Dumbledore and McGonagall, despite the fact that I am at the top of most of my classes.

My head slides back, sinking into the quilt.

"I can't do this," I whisper regretfully, shutting my eyes tightly.

"Yes, you can," James corrects me patiently. His hand moves to my arm, rubbing gently. A shiver runs the length of my spine and my heart lifts only to sink like a stone.

"No, it won't work," I continue quietly.

I hear James chuckle softly beside me. I open my eyes and turn to him.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you give up on anything, Lily," he laughs.

I smile weakly, but he's forgotten something very important; I've given up on him. My smile fades no matter how hard I try to force it. So this is it? I practically throw myself at James, my nerve fails and he does nothing.

Because I think maybe, James might've given up on me…

The thought strikes terror into my heart. I almost laugh out loud. It's irony. The guy that's been chasing this one girl for the past two years, suddenly gives up on her and moves on, and the girl finally comes around. It's like a bad chick flick. Except we aren't really in love, I was just, you know, willing to have some fun with him. That's all.

The only reason why I'm disappointed, if you even want to call it that, because I'm not upset, not mad, not sad, just…

Okay, maybe I'm a tiny bit upset, an itsy bitsy bit disappointed, but I'm merely disappointed with myself. I said I was going to do something and then I didn't do it. You know why? Because I was scared. Yes, I, Lily Evans, was scared to kiss James Potter.

What?

He would've raped me.

All right, so he doesn't exactly look like he's interested in tearing all my clothes off, but I think he might've rejected me. And I guess I'm afraid of rejection.

"Look Lily, we'll figure something out, we're going to make this thing work," James says gently, smoothing my hair. My breath hitches and I call up the courage to look him in the eye.

"We will?" I ask, barely daring to get my hopes up.

"Of course, we always do. We've survived three funerals, well two-"

"Three, Tiffany's Dad died," I correct him.

"Oh, and we survived - well you did - a break in, a night in a mausoleum, a child poltergeist-"

"That was Hope," I explain having come to this conclusion shortly after discovering the sixteen year old version in the kitchen.

"Really?"

I nod and James sits thoughtfully before continuing.

"Well, to sum things up we've been through a lot together, Lily, and I'm sure that after all that, a lunatic shouldn't be too hard to handle," he finishes with a small laugh and a smile.

I was afraid he was going to say that. Forced smile back in place, I wonder why I'm actually disappointed that what should've happened, didn't happen. It was a crazy idea. Now that I think of it, I wonder why I even conceived the thought. It's absurd. It would never work. And who's to say Potter is still interested in me? When was the last time he made a pass at me? And I'm not really attracted to him… it's only hormones…

Oh well, so much for spicing up my life with a fiery winter fling. I guess it's back to being boring Lily Evans.

"Now that you put it that way," I say sitting up beside him, "we should be able to handle whatever Hope throws our way, I mean, how hard can it be? It can't be any worse than a full grown marble lion who hasn't had anything to eat in Merlin knows how long? Right?"

"Right, but Lily I don't think marble statues whether they're lions or not eat anything."

"Hmmm… I wouldn't bet anything on it James, that thing looked as if it wanted to have me for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"You know what? I think you're right Lily."

"About the lions?"

"No, about Hope."

"James," I sigh.

"What?" he asks me.

"I'm always right." I grin.

James laughs loudly and slings an arm around my shoulders. He pulls me toward him, mussing up my hair much to my chagrin. What am I? His kid sister now. Though he's hugging me tightly, really tightly. Can't breathe!

"Ger off!"

"Sorry Lily," he apologizes with a sheepish grin.

"You should be, I think you might've stopped my breathing for a moment." I pant fixing my hair which was probably like a rats nest before, so why should I even bother. Besides, it's not like I care about looking good for Potter who's probably completely turned off by me.

Though I don't know why, it's not like I've hit him or kicked him in the past couple of days… Maybe that's why, maybe it's because I've stopped playing hard to get, or he might just go for the abusive relationship, no, that doesn't make any sense, it had to be something that happened…

Oh my god.

Maybe it was the KISS?

Oh god.

Oh Mother of Merlin.

Am I a bad kisser?

"Lily, don't worry yourself," James says, bringing me roughly out of my thoughts with a nudge to the ribs. Easy for him to say, he's not the one in the midst of a crisis. What if I am a bad kisser? Will I be a spinster for the rest of my life? Or will I end up married to old Mundungus Fletcher who doesn't know a girl from a fish. Not to mention the fact that he's disgusting.

"Everything will go perfectly, trust me," he assures me with an easy smile before leaving the room. .

_Famous last words_.

I should've realized then what we were really signing ourselves up for.

Unfortunately, I didn't.

**A/N**: _Ok, first of all if the grammar sucks, blame me because I was unable to get a hold of Danielle. I understand that this chapter seems a bit boring. I thought about changing it for a very long time but in the end I couldn't bear to change it. The next chapter should be a bit better and hopefully it will be up sometime in the next few weeks. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews!_


	21. Shattered

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: If anything unusual occurs, chances are it has nothing to do with Rowling and everything to do with an over reactive imagination and several sleepless nights.

**Chapter 20: Shattered**

The winter break comes to an end just as suddenly as it began. It's hard to believe that it's only been a fortnight since that dreadful night we spent in the mausoleum with the ghosts and bodies of the Moons. Christmas, the attack at the Ministry Ball, even Tiffany's father's funeral seem to all be a part of one giant blur that pales in comparison to the startling discovery James and I made in the Potter's kitchen only three days ago. Hope Moon Adams (Gracie's mother) thought to have been murdered with her husband and son Christopher back in September, is actually very much alive and has been right under our nose the whole time. First we found her in the form of a lost, forlorn child that wandered into my room, and then rediscovered her as a feisty (but not exactly mentally stable) teenager that fought with us and revealed her true identity. That same girl is the cause of my current troubles, as I recall the promise that James and I made to James's father. That night we swore to watch out for the girl at Hogwarts, help her heal and recover her memories and above all keep her identity a secret.

I'm torn between excitement and sadness as I look around the breakfast table at the people I've been living with for the past two weeks. As weird as it may sound, they kind of became like a family to me. Well, with the exception of Potter. (Who's currently shoveling food down his throat faster than a speedy snitch.) Though he could easily fit the position of the annoying-bratty-little-brother or perhaps the perverted-second-cousin, or maybe the attractive-I-have-no-idea-how-but-I-wish-I-wasn't-related-to –

My thought process comes to a blessed halt. Did something just hit me? I reach up and touch my forehead. I brush my shoulder off and examine my lap but it must've been my imagination. I swear I'm going crazy. Insanity is the only possible explanation as to why I suddenly find Potter attractive and why I might've enjoyed that little mistletoe kiss, not to mention the fling that I was considering. Thank Merlin I squashed that nutty fantasy.

I dip my spoon into the bowl of hot cereal and bring it to my mouth. Heather or the house elf, or whoever it is that makes the food, is an amazing cook, well at least that's what I thought, until now. I start to swallow, separating a chunk of something that tastes remarkably like paper. Disgusting! I grab my napkin fast and with a quick duck of my head, silently spit it out.

EEWWWW.

It was in fact a piece of paper. How it got into my bowl of cereal is a mystery. I make to close up my napkin but something stops me. Is that writing on the paper? I glance to my left but Sirius is too busy with his fourth bowl and Heather got up and went to the kitchen a while ago and hasn't been back. I grimace but bravely poke at the paper with my spoon so that it unfolds and I can read what it says.

"_Meet me upstairs_."

I crumple up my napkin with the note inside. Mystery solved. Only _he_ would pull something this stupid and gross. I catch James's eye, and give him one of my infamous death glares. James gulps.

"Can someone help me in the kitchen?" Heather's sweet voice calls from the other room.

Automatically I push back my chair, but Sirius beats both James and I to it.

"I'll help!" He runs into the kitchen, probably hoping that there will be a fifth helping or a taste test involved.

"Look at the time!" Danny suddenly folds up _The Daily Prophet_. "I'm sorry son I can't see you off, but have a good time and don't do anything I wouldn't do." He winks and ruffles his son's hair.

"Take good care of him," he tells me, tipping an imaginary hat at me before running into the kitchen to say his goodbyes to the rest.

I check to make sure that the others are safely distracted in the kitchen and then throw my napkin into his breakfast. James's mouth drops open giving me a wonderful view of what he forgot to swallow.

"What was that for?" James asks as he swallows and picks the dirty napkin out of the bowl.

"What do you think?" I shoot back.

Realization dawns on his face and he laughs.

"It's not funny, you ruined my meal." I scowl and fold my arms on the table.

With a sigh, James stifles a final laugh. He pushes his bowl aside and leans forward in his seat.

"I'm sorry, alright? I was aiming for your head, but it must've fallen into your bowl," he apologizes.

"There's no excuse-" I hiss, leaning across the table.

"How else was I supposed to get your attention?" James demands loudly.

"Lower your voice," I whisper, stealing a glance at the kitchen door which was left ajar. James rolls his eyes but I notice that he pauses for a moment, listening intently and does in fact lower his voice significantly.

"I need to talk to you," he says softly.

"About what?" I ask my heart quickening. "Why don't we just discuss it right here?"

"Because I need to talk to you about…" he trails off when he hears the sound of approaching footsteps but I have a feeling I know exactly what he wants to talk about.

"I'll meet you up there," I tell him pushing back my chair. "Wait five minutes, okay?" He nods.

"My room or yours?" he asks as I get to my feet and push the chair back in.

"Mine."

I exit the room and run right into someone.

"Sorry!" I exclaim.

For a split second I mistake her for Hope, but then I remember that we dyed Hope's hair yesterday and that she was transported to Hogwarts early this morning through the floo network. Apparently, they'd decided that it would be less suspicious if Hope was reintroduced to Dumbledore and many of her teachers before the other students arrived in case she had a relapse. One of the healers that she felt comfortable around had gone with her.

"That's all right Lily," Gracie laughs. "Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?" she asks as I brush past her.

"Oh!" I rack my brain for a believable lie which isn't easy because I'm horrible at lying, especially when it comes down to my best friend. "I uh, just remembered. I forgot to pack my toothbrush."

"Oh okay, I'll see you in a bit then?" she asks, with a funny smile.

"Yeah!" I smile back and hurry off to my room.

I let myself in and shut the door behind me. I already finished my packing, last night actually. My trunk sits ready to go at the foot of my bed. I'm debating whether I should shrink it down or not. I almost lost it last year. Luckily Tiffany spotted it and pocketed it, not knowing until later that night when I was racing around with my head chopped off what it really was that she had found.

I sit down on the bed, Indian style, with my eyes on the door.

Twenty minutes later the door opens and a disheveled James walks in.

"You're late," I inform him narrowing my eyes.

"I know, my mom recruited me for baking duty," James says sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "And then Gracie kept asking me all these funny questions…" He frowns as if he wants to say more but we've already wasted too much time.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" I cut straight to the chase.

"You know what I want to talk to you about, Lily," James sighs and leans back against the door. "You know… out little secret…"

"Hope?" I provide.

"Yea, her." James slams his head back against the door in a moment of frustration. "Ow," he says, rubbing his head and staring at the door, as if it was the door that hit him and not the other way around.

"Come here," I sigh, making room for him on the bed beside me. James, still holding his head sits.

"You're worried?" I ask, handing him a pillow to rest his head on.

"Just a little bit," James admits, accepting the pillow with a grateful smile. He lies down, leaning his head on the pillow.

"Wasn't it you that told me we had nothing to worry about?" I inquire with an amused smile.

"That was before I got to thinking," he groans.

"It's called worrying James, probably something you've never experienced until now," I chuckle.

"Lily?" James asks hesitantly.

"Yes?"

A long pause seems to stretch and fill the room. I wait patiently, watching James intently.

"Do you think the person that murdered my uncle and my cousin is going to try and finish the job off?" he asks seriously.

It feels like someone's suddenly poured a bucket of ice water down the back of my shirt. I shiver uncontrollably. Up until now I had blatantly ignored the reason why Hope's identity had to be kept secret. Now though, the haunting truth suddenly flashes back to me.

"_Um, what exactly is at stake?" James asked timidly._

_Danny blinked, but his expression quickly turned from incredibility to severity. _

"_Our lives." He said gravely before sweeping out of the room, leaving both of us in a stunned silence._

"I don't know James," I whisper pulling my knees to my chest.

I close my eyes, hugging myself as if to fend off an intangible cold. A door opens somewhere in my mind and suddenly I'm falling headfirst down that dark, freezing tunnel. Shattered memories flash before my eyes: the black owl, Gracie, falling hard, crumbling in my arms; Tiffany, alone in the snowy graveyard; and Hope, afraid, yelling and begging us to just take her home. I'm slipping and sliding, down, down, down, watching the domed ceiling of the mausoleum disappear, seeing my smoking living room dissolve as Serial Killer's hands close over my throat, clinging to James as everything collapses around us…

"Lily!"

My eyes snap open and lock with a familiar pair of hazel ones. James is sitting up beside me with concern in his eyes and the hand that rests heavily on my arm. I try to smile but it's too late. The damage has already been done. James looked in my eyes and saw what I saw. He knows.

"Oh, Lily," he whispers.

He pulls me toward him, drawing me into the very warmth of his heart which radiates from his chest. I rest my head on his sweater and take a deep breath. I inhale his cologne, his clothes, his hair, his eyes, his handsome face, the strength and the warmth, all of him, all in one breath. And then I lift my head, pull back, and smile.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he apologizes.

I grab his hands and squeeze them tight.

"I know James, but the truth _is_ upsetting," I remind him sadly, pulling my hands free.

"It could only be the beginning," James sighs.

"Or it could be the end…" I say optimistically.

"It might get worse," he says seriously.

"Or it could get better…" I point out.

James looks at me.

"We don't know yet James, what the future holds. All we can do now is wait and be the best damn babysitters there ever were."

"Bodyguards," James corrects me.

"Babysitters," I insist.

"Bodyguards," James repeats finally smiling. "It makes us sound much more macho," he elaborates, puffing up his chest.

"Fine." I roll my eyes and laugh. "Here's the deal, I'll use my brains and since you don't have one-"

James hits me lightly, noticing that I'm kidding, because I never lie and there obviously has to be something up there if he's breathing right now and stringing together words, unless he's a robot… which is entirely possible…

"As I was saying, before you decided to abuse me." He laughs at this. "You should have no trouble disarming or charming her with your suave moves and stud-worthy good looks."

James makes a face and it's my turn to grin.

"Lily, she's my Aunt," he reminds me grimacing.

"A minor inconvenience." I wave a hand dismissively.

"I would kill you, but you just admitted that you find me irresistibly handsome, suave and charming." James smirks.

Did I? Oops.

_You're an idiot Lily. As if his head isn't big enough as it is now you openly admit that you find him attractive-_

Shut up, who doesn't? It doesn't necessarily mean I like him or anything.

_To him it does. Think about it Lily, do you need to give him another reason to stalk you._

You have a point.

"Don't worry Potter, I'm immune to the charm, just pretend I'm your Aunt."

_Nice save._

Thanks.

_Sarcasm._

I'm not listening to you anymore.

"But you're prettier than my Aunt!" James blurts out.

Caught off guard, I blush. Then to cover it up, I mock swoon, throwing a hand over my heart and another over fluttering eye lashes.

"I'm flattered James, really, but-" I come out of my swoon, grinning widely. "I think right now I'm looking a lot better than your Aunt because first of all your Aunt's married and second of all she's related to you."

"Of course, but Lily I think you're beaut-"

"Why are we even having this conversation?" I interrupt him not wanting him to finish that sentence. He has no idea how close I came to letting myself go yesterday and I don't intend for him to ever know what happened during that minor lapse in my sanity.

"I-I don't know." James looks a bit bewildered. He lifts one of his hands and runs it through his unruly hair, causing it to stick up, it it's possible, even more. "What were we talking about again?" he asks with an adorable puzzled expression on his face.

"We were talking about your Aunt, the reincarnated sixteen year old loony," I refresh his memory.

"Ah yes, Ophelia's biological mother, actually come to think of it, Gracie's always been a little mad…" He snaps his fingers. "Suddenly everything's illuminated! It all makes sense, it was in the genes!"

I hit him. James clutches his arm as if he's been shot, instead of hit by a girl who's half the size of him.

"OW! Ow! Lily, she's my cousin! It's like an unwritten rule, I have to make fun of her!" he whimpers.

"James you don't follow rules, you break them," I sigh.

James gasps loudly.

"Lillian Evans, did you just encourage me to break a rule?" He gapes at me.

"No!"

"You did! I heard you!"

"NO, I DIDN'T!"

"Wait until I tell Sirius that our little Lillian is a rebel in disguise!" James laughs wildly.

"That's not what I meant! Oh what's the use!" I groan and bury my head in my hands. I can only imagine what might happen if he were to spread the word that I, Lily Evans, the Gryffindor Prefect, just encouraged him to break a rule. Gracie and Sirius would probably split their sides laughing and never let up on me for months, maybe years…

"You're never going to let me live this one down, are you?" I ask, biting my lip.

"Nope." James grins.

Well then, I guess my life's officially over. I grab the pillow and stuff my face into it. James's laughter fades to background and suddenly I feel the bed move beneath me and hear the springs squeak. His feet hit the floor, moving fast. I sit up, tossing the pillow aside. James is already at the door when I touch his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" I demand, folding my arms over my chest.

"Nowhere," James smiles innocently.

I raise an eyebrow.

"All right, I have to finish packing…" he says lamely.

I look at him closely and notice how he fails to meet my eyes. He's guilty of something and I have a strong suspicion of what it might be. I shut the door and face him.

"Listen to me James, don't you dare tell anyone about this – POTTER!"

But James shoves past me and runs out the door. I yell and holler, fruitlessly twisting at the doorknob but James is holding it on the other side, trapping me in the bedroom. I bang on the door.

"Potter – _BANG!_ – You – _BANG! BANG!_ – BETTER – _BANG! _– let me OUT of this room – _BANG!_ – before I – _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ – hurt you- ARGH!"

The doorknob finally gives way in my hand and I can hear James already getting a head start down the hall.

I take off after him, running hard. I catch up with him easily, and make a pathetic attempt to tackle him. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into consideration the fact that James Potter actually has at least six inches, fifty pounds and five years of strenuous quidditich training on me. I come up from behind and jump up onto his back.

"POTTER I'M GOING TO – oh!"

I gasp.

"Hello Lily." James's mother grins. I promptly let go of James's neck and fall right on my bum. As if the situation isn't already embarrassing enough, I have to go and fall and make it about a hundred times worse.

"Are you all right?" James asks, holding out a hand to me.

I sit on the floor where I fell, sincerely wishing that I was in fact hurt or better yet that I had simply fallen all the way through the wood and disappeared.

"Lily?" she asks. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm okay," I tell them, ignoring James's hand and avoiding both sets of eyes. I stand up and brush myself off, taking far more time than necessary. But alas, eventually I have to lift my head and face his mother who caught us in such a…suggestive position.

"Oh honey, there's no need to be embarrassed," his mother reassures me gently.

Huh?

I look at James, but he looks almost as confused as I am.

"Young love is nothing to be ashamed of," she continues, smiling fondly at the two of us.

It takes me a moment to register what she said and to identify the young couple in question. That would be me and James.

"Oh," I almost laugh at the absurdity of this observation. Nothing could be more far from the truth. "No, James and I, we-"

"There's no need to deny it," Heather cuts me off with that same smile, the one that seems to imply that she knows something that we don't. She winks and whispers, "I know you two have been sleeping together."

My jaw drops and James blushes.

"Mom, we haven't-" James stammers but Heather's laughter drowns his words out.

"You didn't think I would notice the two of you sneaking off into the woods that first night." She smirks. "I saw you two come crawling back in around dawn."

Immediately the truth tumbles from our lips as both of us scramble to set her straight.

"No!"

"You don't understand-"

"We weren't-"

"We were only trying to comfort one another!"

"Oh, is that what you kids call it," she giggles before continuing, "And the other night in the kitchen, I think we all know why you were both up and in the kitchen when you weren't supposed to be." She winks again, implying that we're all in on this sick, twisted, completely false secret.

"We couldn't sleep!" I admit.

"I was hungry!" James whines.

"Well obviously," she giggles again, clearly amused by our flustered faces and our stammered denials, obviously mistaking them for embarrassment. I think she's been waiting a long time for this and I bet that she's enjoying every minute of this.

"What about the night we were at the ball? And how about all those times you go sneaking off to your room, like this morning for instance, and last night in the guestroom, did you honestly think that your mother wouldn't notice?"

"It's not what you – wait – the guestroom?"

I stop short, the wheels in my head suddenly coming to a screeching halt. My heart jumps into my throat and I turn to look at James.

"The guestroom?" I ask again, looking at James. I haven't been in the guestroom for at least a couple of days and James looks equally puzzled.

"Oh yes, I know all about your midnight meetings. I'm a mother for Merlin's sake, I see and know everything. I wasn't born yesterday, by the age of eighteen we had-"

"MOM!" James yells.

"James, dear, there's nothing to be ashamed of-"

"ENOUGH!" I scream.

Heather blinks in surprise, still smiling a little bit, but the leak has been plugged. The blessed silence fills the hall and I exhale slowly.

"I'm sorry," I mumble. "But I don't really want to know about the intimate details of your - um – relationship with your husband."

"I know honey, that's why I don't really want to know the details of yours." The smile slides off her face, replaced with a look of disappointment. "I thought we had an agreement."

"An agreement?" James asks, blinking.

"Yes, an agreement." She folds her arms over her chest and leans against the wall. "The very first time you brought her home, we agreed that you wouldn't sleep in the same room. Or if you were going to sleep together that some rules were to be upheld and we agreed to those rules, didn't we James?"

My jaw drops as I watch James stammer something and then under the pressure of her stare, bend his head in a reluctant nod.

"Make sure that you and your girlfriend remember that in the future, James, or you know the consequences." Heather's eyes are so fierce that I don't have the courage to correct our relationship status or attempt once again to speak the truth.

Another mumble of assent and a nod from James and Heather's disciplinary tone vanishes, replaced with that voice of a childish taunt.

"Well, I'll leave you two _alone_, now," she teases, putting far too much emphasis on the word _alone_. She winks at us as she walks away and I find myself staring after her with my jaw unhinged.

James had dragged me into a vacated bedroom and shut the door before I finally regained my ability to speak. I guess he knows me better than I think.

"What is she talking about?" I demand, wondering what kind of drugs that woman was on and where I could get them because I probably need to be obliterated after that mortifying experience.

James shuffled forward, beat red and avoiding my eyes at all cost.

"Er, Lily," he coughs, turning me away from the door which I was reaching for. "Maybe you should go and let me handle this."

"No, James!" I wrench my arm from his grasp and face him. "This needs to stop. She needs to know the truth."

"The truth?" James repeats, looking at me oddly.

"Yes! I'M NOT YOUR GIRLFRIEND and WE ARE NOT SLEEPING TOGETHER!" I explode.

James takes a step back, blinking as if he wasn't quite prepared for that. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. But James just stands there. Minutes go by and still he says nothing. I wish he would say something, anything to break this silence.

"What?" I ask, realizing that something's wrong with this silence and that I may have missed something.

"Lily," James says, shoving his hands into his pockets. "There's something you need to know about… the truth."

"What do you mean?" I ask faltering.

James runs a hand through his unruly hair, looking suddenly nervous and unsure.

"Um, we, er, well, we had to er," he stammers.

"Spit it out James," I interrupt his stuttering.

"We told her that you were my girlfriend," James blurts out. "And that-"

"What?" I asked, wondering if this could get any worse.

"We kind of told her, well, actually we sort of implied, that you and I were sleeping together."

Now it's my turn to entertain the silence, and James's to fidget and silently beg me to break the quiet with reassuring words.

"Anything else I need to know about? Did you tell her that we eloped? Or maybe you told her that I'm pregnant?" I laugh harshly and take pleasure in the fact that James has the decency to avoid my eyes and even wince upon hearing my reaction. I'm so angry that I could strangle the boy.

"Gracie told her that we were promised to each other," James suddenly recalls. I feel my stomach drop. It's one thing for James to tell lies about me but it's another for my own best friend to say these things.

In the wizarding world, to be promised to someone is a sentence even more frightening and terrible than marriage. It was the worst possible thing that Gracie could've told them.

"She did?" I choke out, anger and disappointment clouding my words and my vision.

"Yes but Lily you don't understand we had to – Lily wait!"

I slam the door shut, and send a charm over my shoulder, successfully locking him in the room. (Even if it was only for the satisfaction of thirty seconds before he realized that his wand was in his pocket.) James can wait. I have to find Gracie.

* * *

"You told her WHAT?!" I corner Gracie in an empty compartment as soon as we get on the train. Gracie must've been able to sense that I was upset with her, because she was attached to Sirius's hip all morning, until we got on the train moments ago and I dragged her away from her Siamese counterpart.

"Lily, calm down. It was a joke!" Gracie has the audacity to giggle even as I give her my infamous death glare. "Auntie Heather knows that. Surely, she was just playing around with you two." The fact that Gracie finds this funny infuriates me.

"Well, I don't find it very funny." I fold my arms over my chest and I can feel myself morphing into my prefect mode. "And I don't think your aunt did either," I add.

Gracie rolls her eyes.

"Lily, I think that you're taking this just a little too seriously."

"Gracie, she gave us a lecture!" I explode. "And then she went on about how disappointed she was in us because we're sneaking around and we won't admit it. All I'm asking is for you to stop encouraging her-"

"Me?" Gracie's eyes pop. "You think that this is my fault." She throws back her head and laughs.

"Lily, I didn't do anything other than merely make a joke. You on the other hand made her believe it was fact," she points out.

She's accusing ME? She's saying that this is MY fault? Suddenly, I can't take it anymore.

"Grace! You told her that James and I were PROMISED to each other!" I shout, thanking Merlin that I had soundproofed the compartment when I came in.

She stumbles back a step, leaning against the wall. I wait for her to deny it, but she doesn't.

"James told you," Gracie says simply, avoiding my eyes.

"What possessed you to tell her that?" I ask angrily, wondering how she could insult me like this.

"Lily, I had too," Grace whispers, suddenly sounding weary.

"No." I shake my head so angry that I manage to brush away the secrets held in her blue eyes and on the tip of her loosening tongue. "No, you didn't."

"Lily, you don't understand…" James had said that too, hadn't he? But I didn't care. No one was going to decide my future, not even my own best friend.

"NO! You're the one that doesn't understand! I don't fancy your cousin, I don't even _like_ him! And even if I did, it would have never worked," I can feel the tears burning in my eyes as I edge dangerously close to the real truth behind my discomfort and disappointment. "You don't know enough about James or me to be making those kind of claims on the future."

"Lily, listen to me!"

"No, you listen to me!" I snarl. "I'm not dating him, I'm not promised to him and I am NOT marrying-"

"LILY!" she screams, reaching for me wildly. "LOOK OUT!"

BANG!

The compartment door behind me explodes. Glass shatters, wood splinters, and Gracie's wide fear filled eyes are lost in the cloud of debris. I hardly have time to breathe, let alone get out of the way. The spell misses me by barely an inch. I see my reflection glowing green in the light of the deadly curse, shocked, white faced, and with both arms half raised as if to cover my head, an instant before the spell breaks the windows.

The bitterly cold January air, rushes in through the open windows and I watch in a sort of stupefied state as the train keeps going as if nothing had happened. But something had happened. Someone had fired a curse into the compartment where Gracie and I had been standing and I knew just as surely as I knew that it was the month of January that they had been aiming to kill.

"Gracie!" I exclaim, suddenly remembering her. I start searching for her with my eyes, a sorely delayed reaction. It seems as if everything's moving too quickly or too slowly since the spell's arrival and departure. My heart flutters and I find it hard to breathe.

"Grace! GRACE!"

"I'm right here Lily!" I feel her hand on my shoulder and realize that it's been there the whole time. Gracie had pulled me out of the way, brought me safely to the floor, and aimed several useless stunners into a gaping hole in the door and an empty corridor.

Whoever it was, they didn't stick around long enough to see that their curse had missed.

"Lily?" Gracie shakes my shoulder lightly.

"Y-yeah?" The single word response is oddly difficult to form and once again I am aware of the fact that something is wrong with my heartbeat, or is it my breathing?

"Just hold on Lily," Grace whispers, and I realize that she's crying.

I struggle to hold on, because Grace looks more frightened than she did when the curse struck. I don't remember Grace ever looking that scared before. Grace Adams does not get scared. She's brave, like James. I think of James, his unruly hair, his soft hazel eyes, his warm embrace… I try to concentrate on James or Gracie, but I can feel my mind slipping. The glass shards surrounding me, wink and sparkle in the swinging lamp that miraculously survived it all. I watch the lamp, swaying in the swirling frigid air that blows into our compartment.

"Help! Someone help me!"

It's snowing I realize. I remember Gracie and me dancing in the snow filled dormitory with Tiffany complaining and Alice sneezing. I remember James throwing snowballs…

I try to tell Gracie that it's snowing, but I can't find her face anywhere.

"Stay with me Lily!"

Tiny flakes, shaped just like stars. I remember looking at the stars with James.

"You're going to be fine Lily, just stay with us," James says.

I smile, his voice is soft and reassuring.

I can feel him lying next to me in the snow. Safe and secure in his warm embrace, lying in the midst of a winter wonderland…

"No! _NO_!" Gracie screams, shaking me violently.

I finally find peace.

A/N: So, did you miss me? Was it worth the wait? I'm so sorry this was so delayed, but I've been so busy with school and work. I was seriously considering just leaving but today I recovered yet another version of chapter 20, this version, and I realized how many people had actually reviewed the last chapter. I cannot believe it. I went back today and looked and my jaw dropped. So thank you, thank you so much, _xaddictedx, muppetmadness, Silver Moonlit Dreams, AnIrishLily, I'veNeverFollowedCanon HHR, And So The Wolf Howls, tennisjock, Ace-reporter, radical-rebel, Josephine Taylor, Captain Annie, EvilFaerie17, Life Love Sanity, White Camellia, Sarahrules336, -POTTER.loves.EVANS-, maraudersminuspeterarehot, sncaggie, harrrypotter-love, Sunny Sammy, mika-pali, HazelGreenEyes, Amelia Bedelia, siriusforeva, SammyLynn, Heather Gernenz, IAMSOAP, firewalker32, booboobubbles, Funstuff05, RdeIanPxjade, xlilyxjamesx, maraudersGIRL92, Raspberry Polar Bear, ananda9, Sunni Bunni, Allie D, xx-Heartbroken, oreo day, Emily Blankenship, baseball2horse, coldplayislove, Ron Lover6789, Claire, The Soul of Writing, XXXYazimakestheworldgoround…, is-a-palindrome, Severence, Sweettarts, cutedoggy37, bananasRcool, Jane Yale Chay_. I know that most of you are gone or don't remember this story but THANK YOU.


	22. Letting Go

I'll Fight For You

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: If I owned anything I don't think I'd be here right now.

**A/N**: I'm sorry if you were waiting for this chapter. I'm currently at school and this chapter has been in the works since possibly November but I just haven't had the time to finish it. I'm supposed to be writing a paper as we speak but I miss writing a lot and so I decided to finish this even if it is imperfect because I write for fun and for my own sanity which has been missing lately. This chapter picks up immediately after the last chapter ended with the attack in the compartment and Lily losing consciousness. I realize its overkill but this is what was rolling around in my head, you get introduced to a new character who may or may not play a big role in the story and the next chapter should be better and full of revelations. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer your reviews since hopefully I will be posting another chapter by June.

**Chapter 21**: Letting Go

"_Enervate_!"

My eyes fly open. I blink, focusing on an anxious face and a pair of concerned hazel eyes.

"Keep her awake James, don't let her lose consciousness again. I'm going to get someone that can apparate," Grace says as she leaves our side. I hear the sound of glass crunching under her feet, only stopping with the sound of the creak, as Grace struggles to heave what's left of the door open.

"Be quick Gracie!" James pleads.

And then we're alone.

James cradles me in his arms as we sit amongst the ruins of the attacked compartment. Glass litters the floor and the wind whistles in through the gaping holes where the windows should have been.

"I've got you now Lily, everything's going to be fine," he whispers, smoothing the hair from my forehead. I try to smile, because I know he's lying. His hand trembles as he caresses my cheek, his whole body shaking. But it's his eyes, sparkling with unshed tears that betray him. I want to reassure him and tell him that everything really is going to be just fine, but I'm too tired and I have a strange feeling that it's not…

James pulls me closer, holding me tight. That's when I notice the blood on his shirt.

"You're bleeding!" I gasp, though it comes out so weak and strained that I wonder if he even comprehended me.

"I'm not bleeding, Lily," he says sadly, acting as if there's something that I don't quite understand.

The damaged door to the compartment suddenly slides open admitting Grace, closely followed by Sirius. Grace falls to her knees beside me, silently crying as she takes my hand from James and holds it between both of her own. But Sirius stops short at the sight, looking as if he's going to be sick.

"How is she?" Grace inquires, hiccupping.

"There's so much blood…" Sirius answers for James, swaying slightly. He turns, making a run for the door, but smacks into our Head Boy, Edgar Bones, as well as his crazy, but strangely intuitive friend, Ophelia.

"Whoa, Sirius! Mary's checking the rest of the train but I - Bloody hell!" Eddie gasps, finally seeing past Sirius. "Grace, you said she was _hurt_!"

"She is!"

"Grace, she's swimming in a pool of her own blood!"

"That's why I need you Eddie. I need you to apparate her to St. Mungos," Grace explains.

"Are you crazy?! We can't move her anywhere looking like that!"

"What do you mean? If we don't get her to a healer, she could - she could possibly – she might…" Grace looks down at me, unable to finish her sentence.

"Grace," Ophelia whispers, suddenly appearing at Gracie's shoulder, "Lily's dying."

"No! No, she's not!" Grace protests angrily, her sobs becoming audible once more.

"If we were to apparate she'd be dead upon arrival. Our only chance is that we'll reach Hogwarts in time or perhaps they'll send a healer. Mary's sent out an owl -" But Eddie is interrupted by Ophelia.

"It will be too late by the time it gets through to them, Eddie."

"But we're still at least three hours away from Hogwarts, she won't last an hour let alone three…" Eddie trails off at a loss for words.

"Unless," Ophelia suddenly speaks, looking down at me thoughtfully. "Unless, we perform the healing now…"

"Well, that's just bloody brilliant Ophelia. But we're still missing a healer," Eddie reminds her.

"I'm not saying we'll be able to heal her completely Edgar. All I want to do is stabilize her," Ophelia explains, walking behind James to get a better look.

"But she's already lost so much blood, if we close the wound up now-" Eddie hesitates, joining her.

"I know, and for all we know she could have gotten hit by that curse," Ophelia agrees, softly.

"We got out of the way!" Grace insists, jumping to her feet. "I pulled her out of the way!"

"The windows were hit too, it could have deflected on the glass and-"

"You're wrong! It was just the glass, just get the glass out and stitch her up. If you're not going to do it then I'll do it!" Gracie whips out her wand, aiming it shakily at me and James who indistinctively curls himself around my body.

"NO!" Ophelia raises her own wand and the spell goes awry. "Don't touch her Grace! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Listen to her, Grace, she knows what she's talking about," Eddie says quietly, trying to ease the tension in the room. Even he can see the dangerous light in Gracie's flashing blue eyes.

"No, she doesn't," Gracie snarls, keeping her wand pointed at Ophelia. "She doesn't know anything." Gracie's no longer talking about Ophelia's knowledge of healing, or even the situation that we presently find ourselves in. She's talking about something that Ophelia made the mistake of telling her before we left for our winter holiday, something that Grace took for fact when everyone else thought it was lunacy, something that turned out to be the truth though only James and I know it.

"The _Suturio_ Spell," Sirius speaks for the first time since he's entered the compartment, momentarily distracting Grace and Ophelia and stalling what could have been a potential blow out between the two.

"No, it's too close to the spine," Ophelia says with a shake of her head. "And there's still so much glass…"

"And blood…" Sirius squeaks, holding his abdomen as if he's about to hurl.

"Would you mind assisting me?" Ophelia inquires gently.

Sirius makes a strange sound and slumps against the wall.

THUMP!

He falls forward, missing the seat entirely and hitting the floor.

"SIRIUS!" James and Grace exclaim.

"I'll take that as a no," Ophelia sighs. "Relax," she reassures his anxious friends, "he's fine, just fainted at the sight of blood I suppose." Grace looks as if she doesn't believe this probable explanation one bit, but rather than seeing to Sirius, she seems to think that destroying Ophelia might be a better employment of her anger and fear.

"Good Golly! What in Merlin's name?!" Mary Pewter, the Head Girl, had finally finished checking the rest of the train.

"Mary, go find Rohan," Ophelia orders, not taking her eyes off of Grace who still looks like she's on the verge of exploding.

"But-"

"Hurry Mary!" Eddie interrupts her, promising explanations later. "She doesn't have much time!" he reminds us, frantically glancing in my direction.

"Is she going to die?" Mary asks.

"GET ROHAN! NOW!" Ophelia shouts, raising her voice for the first time in the six years I've known her. Mary's eyes widen and she flies out of the compartment.

"She is NOT d-d-dying!" Grace sobs, choking on the last word. She finally drops her wand, crumbling to the ground beside me. Ophelia steps toward her, resting her pale hands on Grace's shaking shoulders. She draws her into her arms even as Grace repeats over and over again between tears and sobs that "Lily's not dying!"

But I am… Grace denies it, though we all know the truth now, even me.

I'm dying.

The blood - all of that blood on James's shirt, on my clothes, on the floor, tinting the glass, smearing Grace's sneakers – it belongs to me. James isn't bleeding. I am.

I see it in an instant, reflected in James's eyes. A flicker of understanding passes between us. No words are necessary. I don't want to die anymore than he wants me too. But sometimes fate has other plans for us. I shut my eyes, sighing.

"James," I whisper.

James panics, fearing that I'm losing consciousness or worse, exhaling my last breathe.

"Stay with me Lily," he whispers, rubbing my shoulder frantically. "I need you to fight it for just a little bit longer then you'll be okay."

Fight.

But how can one fight fate?

"Ophelia we're coming!" Mary's voice enters the compartment shortly before she follows it up with a boy of dark complexion who looks oddly familiar. He stops, like Sirius had, but instead of the nauseating expression, he seems to be assessing the situation.

"How long has she been like this?" he asks and I remember hearing his calming voice, easing the tension at one or two particularly rough Prefect meetings. So this was Rohan.

"Ten minutes, fifteen at the most."

It felt like seconds to me.

I don't want to die.

"Please Lily, stay," James whispers in my ear. "I need you to stay."

"What happened?"

Between sobs Grace struggles to explain but her words are incoherent and entirely lost. All I can hear is James whispering in my ear over and over again.

"Fight for me."

I fight to hang on, but I can feel his arms leaving me even as I struggle to hold on with what little strength remains. I can't feel anything, it's as if a part of me has disconnected from my body and I'm drifting further and further away. I see myself, bloody and ashen grey, once again lost in a deceivingly peaceful slumber that will probably be my last. I see the calm vanish from Rohan's face, replaced with a growing panic as he struggles to stay in control even as the odds turn cruelly against us. I see Eddie and Mary taking orders from the serene Ophelia, who alone remains completely cool and collected in the face of death. Sirius stirs calling out for Grace. She answers him tearfully, feebly crawling to him. Under Ophelia's command, Mary helps them to their feet and ushers them protesting weakly from the compartment. With a nod from Ophelia, Eddie moves toward James, who refuses to let go of me.

"I won't let you go!" he tells my ashen face, clinging to me.

"James you have to let go of Lily," Rohan says gently but firmly as Eddie pulls at James and he and Ophelia gingerly prepare to separate us.

"No! I'm not letting her go!" James stubbornly hangs on, blocking their attempts as he fiercely protects my body.

"James! Come on man, be reasonable! We'll have to hurt you if you don't let go." Eddie says, clearly reluctant to use force against his friend.

But James is beyond reason and beyond hurting. There's something almost frightening about the look in his eyes as he fights them off forcing them to resort to desperate measures. Eddie grabs James from behind but James elbows him in the groin and he falls to his knees, breathless. Ophelia cleverly freezes one of his arms so that he temporarily loses all use of it. They take advantage of James' momentary surprise, taking me out from beneath his still working arm. James completely loses it. He responds by grabbing Ophelia with his good arm and throwing her against the wall with an almost inhuman strength. He punches Rohan square the face and would have continued to have done so if Eddie hadn't got back up and pulled him off of him. James prepares to attack Eddie but finds himself frozen as if locked in an invisible box.

"I'm sorry James," Ophelia whispers, keeping her wand and her eyes locked on James. "But you can't help her unless you let go."

James eyes widen as with a reluctant sigh and a flick of her wand the box shatters and James is suddenly blasted out of the compartment and down the hall. James bounces off the walls, unhurt due to the brilliance of Ophelia's modified hex, and finds himself upright and unharmed back in his own compartment. He runs toward the compartment door but it slams shut on its own accord, locking him in. He pounds against the door, clawing at the handle and then all at once the fight goes out of him.

"I love her," he whispers, as if realizing it for the first time.

"I love her," he repeats slowly. And then the tears come, fast and furious and he slides to the ground, rocking back and forth.

"I love you, Lily," he gasps. "I never meant to hurt you! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I promise I'll do anything, just don't leave me."

_But James, I'm right here!_

"Don't leave me, please don't leave me," he cries.

_Don't worry James. I'm staying right here and I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon._

"Stay, I need you to stay with me."

_I'll stay with you James, I promise. _

* * *

"STAY PUT and SHUT UP!"

I'm abruptly ripped from the odd nightmare I was having. I freeze, my breath catching in my throat. Blinking, I wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I hear my captor breathing quietly beside me and become aware of the fact that there is a hand wrapped firmly around my mouth. Footsteps echo through the room, growing louder and then fading away. When at last they disappear altogether I feel myself relax, along with my captor, and the hand leaves my mouth.

"That was close, too close. I thought for sure she'd heard you."

"Hope!?" I gasp loudly, struggling to recognize the face in the darkness beside me.

"Shhhh! Yes, it's me silly, though you mistook me for James. Don't know how you did that, although I think we're related. Don't ask me how, but he lives in my house. But there you go, yelling his name, something about promising to stay and how much you loved him-" I interrupt her before she can go any further, thanking Merlin that she can't see how hard I'm blushing in the darkness.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, pushing the odd dream involving James professing his love for me to the back of my mind.

"I like to come to the infirmary to think and hang out, it's very relaxing and Madam Pomfrey and I are on the very best of terms."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course not! I hate infirmaries. This place gives me the heebie jeebie. It reminds me of St. Mungos, too many sick people, too many crazy people…" Hope pauses to shudder, and I can't help but agree her, seeing evidence of this fact perched on the bed beside me. "And Madam Pomfrey scares the hell out of me! Do you know what I had to do just to get in here? I had to pretend that I had the Bubonic Plague, got the spots and everything. I told her I got the wrong book out of the library. My friend Mark Adams got it last year from a book while researching Medieval Charms, he was out for two straight weeks, turned out some nasty Slytherin thought he'd be real clever switching his books with one from the restricted section (don't worry I got him back later). Anyway, Madam Pomfrey quarantined him, so I knew that she'd do the same with me and I'd be free to visit you but if she catches me talking to you she'll kill me. You're laughing but I'm serious, she's out for my blood. Once she finds out I fed Binns the dreamless sleeping potion-"

"You fed Professor Binns your dreamless sleeping draught!?" I gasp, barely stifling a giggle at the thought of the boring History of Magic professor, who always looked like he was on the verge of sleeping anyway.

"Well yea, he kept claiming that I didn't really have the Bubonic Plague. He would know he probably lived through it."

I bite back a laugh.

"Honestly, how old is he? He's got to be pushing at least two hundred. He taught my parents, hell, I think he even taught my grandparents! Mark my words, if that guy hasn't retired or died by now he's going to go on teaching forever."

"Don't be ridiculous, everyone has to die at some point," I giggle.

"I thought so too, but trust me, there are ways around it," Hope whispers, staring right through me with a haunted look in her eyes. I have the distinct feeling that we're not talking about Binns anymore.

I nervously clear my throat and she snaps out of it.

"As I was saying, I think Madam Pomfrey's catching on, because I've been here for almost a week and the spots still haven't gone away because I have to keep reapplying the charms when she's sleeping and she can't catch me no matter how hard she tries-"

"A week? I've been in here almost week!" I ask, shocked.

"Yea, no wait," Hope pauses, counting on her fingers. "No sorry, you've been in here for ten days."

"Ten days… TEN DAYS!" I explode.

"Keep your voice down!" Hope hisses. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

Last I checked James and I were trying to do just the opposite. Which is why I'm here I suspect… Suddenly everything comes crashing down upon me. The frightening night we spent in the mausoleum, the attack at the Ministry's Yule Ball and Tiffany's father's funeral, the discovery James and I made in the kitchen of a very much alive Hope Adams, the kiss under the enchanted mistletoe, the enlistment of me as well as James in the caretaking of Hope who was promptly sent to Hogwarts, Heather Potter's assumptions concerning James and I, the lies that Grace and James told her and the argument with Grace that followed… I remember it happened then, just as I was finally getting through to her. A green light illuminated the compartment and the glass shattered. Grace's scream echoes through my mind.

"Is Gracie alright?" I ask anxiously.

"She's fine," Hope assures me, smiling. "But she's been worried sick about you all of your friends have been actually. Of course Madam Pomfrey hasn't allowed a single person in to see you, but that hasn't stopped them from trying. In fact, I suspect someone's been sneaking in every night, seeing as you always have fresh flowers and little gifts left behind. I stole a few of your chocolate frogs, I hope you don't mind. Madam Pomfrey's thinks I have the appetite of a flobberworm and is trying to force me to leave by starving me. It would've worked too if it hadn't been for the fact that someone's leaving you food and I know where the kitchens are, which reminds me, now that you're awake I suppose I can go nick us some food…"

"Hope why have you been camping out in here?" I ask curiously.

Hope blinks, her face remaining carefully blank.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asks. When I make no effort to respond, she sighs and leans back in her chair.

"I have to protect you."

I snort and would've laughed out loud at the irony of this statement if it weren't for the fact that she is completely serious.

"Look Lily, I don't really understand why I'm stuck here in your time, rather than my own, but I have to accept the fact that I'll never be able to go back. My parents, my friends, Mark," she sighs sadly at the name of her husband, well, future husband I guess…

"I'm never going to see them again. I mean, Hope and Danny are here, but it's just not the same. I keep waiting to go home, but I get this feeling that I'm trapped here for whatever reason and therefore it's time for me to make new friends. And I felt like we did become friends –"

I stifle a laugh, remembering how Hope recently tried to attack me with a dagger. She certainly had a unique way of establishing friendships.

"It's not funny," Hope snaps. "Someone tried to kill you Lily and they nearly succeeded."

My heart skips a beat, my mouth suddenly going dry. I'm not sure what frightens me more, the fact that someone almost killed me or the dangerous rage that's suddenly appears in her flashing brown eyes. Gracie definitely inherited that look from her mother.

"If they try again," Hope says quietly, twirling her wand between her fingertips as I've seen Grace do on many occasions, "I'm going to kill them."

And that's when I realize that Hope is starting to remember, slowly but surely. She knows deep down that she won't see Mark again and that she's seen someone she loved die at the hands of a murderer. Perhaps she's already piecing the two together coming to the conclusion that this might be the same murderer, a murderer who's still at large and might know that they're not quite done with Hope Adams.

Hope is right of course, someone did definitely come close to killing me. But I wasn't the only one in the compartment…

I gasp as I come to a few conclusions of my own.

Grace Adams was with me.

They weren't trying to kill me.

They were trying to kill Gracie.

And Hope knows it too even if she doesn't quite know that Grace Adams is her daughter.

"James," I whisper as my thoughts stray to my partner and only confidant in this secret operation. I have to tell him!

"It was his idea."

"What?" I ask, snapping back to Hope.

"It was James's idea," Hope informs me, a bit guiltily. "He asked me to stay here and watch over you."

"He did?" I whisper, holding my breath.

Hope nods. I feel a rush of gratitude toward James as my lips nearly curve into a smile.

"Of course after he told me about everything that happened it made perfect sense and I was more than willing to help," Hope explains hastily, wiping the smile right off my face.

"Of course," I agree, nodding and letting out that breath that I was holding. I shake off the feeling of disappointment, wondering why it mattered to me so much that it had been James who had wanted someone to stay and watch over me. Any sane person would have wanted someone to watch over me. After all, someone had just tried to kill me, as Hope kindly pointed out only minutes before.

"Well I guess you can go now, since I'm better," I reassure her.

Hope raises an eyebrow.

"I think I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," I insist, hating the way she looks at me so condescendingly.

"You're joking, right?" she snorts, infuriating me further. But before I can open my mouth to tell her that I'm not as completely helpless as she assumes me to be, her face changes. She grabs my arm, leaning toward me so that we can see each other better in the darkness of the infirmary. When our eyes meet, her eyes soften and pity replaces the condescendence. Suddenly she seems centuries older, as her hand moves from my arm to my forehead, gently smoothing my hair back as my mother had done on many occasions.

"You're too young," she whispers sadly, "and much too naïve to be caught up in all of this."

"Do you have any idea what we're up against?" she asks me, pulling her hand back, almost reluctantly, and I wonder how much she remembers of Gracie.

"Not really," I admit honestly. "But I think you do, don't you Hope?"

Hope's hands clench into fists and her face hardens as she looks away and off into the distance at a cold blooded enemy that she's met before and is destined to meet again.

"Yes, but this is only the beginning," she says softly. "We haven't seen anything yet."

We sit together in the silence, both knowing that she's right and that we can do nothing but wait until he strikes again.

"I was talking about Madam Pomfrey," I lie, finally breaking the tension after several minutes.

"What? Where?" Hope disappears from view and I have a feeling that she's hiding beneath the bed.

"Aren't you supposed to be protecting me?" I laugh, rolling my eyes.

"Not from that witch!" Hope hisses as her head reappears at the opposite side of my bed, confirming my suspicions. "If she finds out that I fed Binn's the dreamless sleep draught and that I'm talking to you – not to mention the fact that I am miraculously cured of the Bubonic Plague – she'll give me a dose of her Cure-All, which is honestly the worst thing I think I've ever tasted, and that includes the time that Mark dared me to eat dragon dung."

"Dragon dung?" I snort, torn between amusement and disgust.

"It was for five galleons!" Hope defends herself, blushing, which leads me to think that it had more to do with impressing Mark than it did with any amount of galleons. I can't help but laugh which of course infuriates Hope and causes her to blush even harder.

"Go ahead laugh at me! Just you wait 'til she gives you the Cure-All, then you'll be sorry!" she whispers angrily. Rising to her feet, she haughtily brushes the dust off of her robes and pulls the curtain shut behind her. Suddenly I'm left enclosed in my curtained hospital bed and very much alone.

"Hope?" I call softly. "Hope!" I hiss, raising my voice slightly. I don't dare speak any louder because I too fear the Cure-All, though it could very well be an invention of Hope's distorted memory. But Hope is once again being an immature teenager and refuses to respond. I sigh, leaning back into the pillows, reassured by the fact that I know she's still somewhere nearby, keeping an eye on me. Or perhaps she's already coming back…

I hear the sounds of someone shuffling about nearby though their footsteps are carefully muffled. Those footsteps are much too quiet to belong to Hope or Madam Pomfrey. Out of habit, I reach for my wand, only to realize that I don't know where it is. A wave of panic washes over me as Hope's recent words echo through my mind.

"_Do you have any idea what we're up against?" _

I was attacked, nearly killed, by someone on the Hogwarts Express which means they could be here at Hogwarts, in the Infirmary, coming quietly towards me right now…

I quickly throw off the sheets and swing my legs over the side of the bed. A shadow appears on the other side of the curtain revealing a figure that is much too large to be Hope. She must have left or worse, what if they already got to her? My heart plunges at the frightening thought and the knowledge that I will be next. Without my wand I am defenseless but if they think that I'm going to let them kill me without a fight, they're in for a rude awakening. I will punch, kick, bite, scratch or do whatever it takes to stay alive. I break out into a cold sweat as the shadow grows, the curtain flutters and my heart races. Just one more step… Every muscle in my body tightens as I prepare to spring. And then the movement stops altogether and I can only hear the frantic beating of my heart. As if in slow motion I watch as the shadow of an arm reaches out and a pale hand closes over the fabric. The curtain is violently ripped open and I bravely leap off the bed, lunging into the darkness and into the arms of my assassin.

**A/N**: It's been too long. Honestly if anyone remembers this story and its plot, I give you a round of applause since even I'm starting to forget, it's been that long. For those few of you that choose to continue to read, have reread or just started to read it, thank you so much for your support. This story is still going because of you. For those of you that realize that I only write for fun and have little skill or talent, I would sincerely appreciate any advice and criticism that you can give me. Thank you for those of you that have stuck with me and for everyone who reviewed the last chapter especially _bananasRcool, Bedlam flux, sweetmomusic, callmeGreen-eyes, SunshineDaisies816, lilynjames, maraudersGIRL92, maraudersminuspeterarehot, Sunny Sammy, Sarahrules336, WhiteCamellia, Snowflake Prongsette, mika-pali, Barrysncream, reader101, is-a-pallindrome, LilyHeartsJames, bookworm1232, sunshine906, Jessiquie, radical-rebel, JainaSolo18, cutedoggy37, threstralwhisperer, free2live, RaeGurk, EvilFaerie17, i.heart.MV, -EHWIES-, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, coca.cola.916, Vapid Philosophy, An Aspiring Author, LILYandJAMESareCUTE, SammyLynn, evertnl, sweetXtarts, coldplayislove, obobob20, Michelle Hill, JustCallMeDollface, Petroleumjellydotone, PotterMad…x, serenity12345, Alexis, hopelesslyxobsessed, GoldenLily, mountain spring, Penguins and Potter, Funstuff05, STonks, ali X dorkface, Courtney, Kevin, EnglishGrlVerity, lovelylilyy, sum1, xshrimpyx, Madi, Stag-plushie, xaddictedx. _THANK YOU SO MUCH!


	23. Visiting Hours Are Over

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything except perhaps the Cure-All, which I will force feed to you if you ignore this disclaimer.

**A/N**: I will put a summary in the next chapter I promise.

**Chapter 22: Visiting Hours Are Over**

I slam into my attacker so hard that for one dizzying moment I see sparks. He's bigger and stronger than me but the force of the impact and the shock that accompany the unexpected assault are too much for this skilled assassin. He stumbles back a step, his arms flailing wildly as he loses his balance and we tumble to the floor.

I can't breathe! Judging by the gasping response of my cold-blooded assassin I've managed to knock the wind out of him as well. He recovers quickly though as I feel his arms rapidly regain their mobility. With a muffled curse he tries to throw me off of him, as if it's me that's hindering his ability to breathe (never mind the fact that I just knocked him to the ground, he was asking for it!). I latch on to him, refusing to let go until I have his wand in my hand. Unfortunately I can't see a bleeding thing now that we're on the ground and behind the curtains! Oh, and did I mention that he's bigger than me and much stronger? Considering that I'm nowhere near fully recovered from the first assassination attempt this is hardly a fair match!

I attempt to get up but he rolls me over so that his weight pins me to the floor. Calling upon every ounce of adrenaline I have left, I use the momentum and all of my waning strength to keep us rolling trying not to think of what will happen once we stop. Somewhere along the way he loses his wand. I hear it skitter across the floor but it disappears in the darkness. It doesn't matter though, it's not like I can get it now and that means he can't either. I shut my eyes tight and desperately hang on, trying to ignore the horrible spinning sensation. Despite the fear, exhaustion and nausea that's rapidly taking the place of my waning adrenaline, I feel myself relaxing under the influence of a very familiar intoxicating scent.

Suddenly I'm yanked out of my reverie by a strangled yelp as his foot catches onto the leg of a chair, pulling us to a painfully abrupt halt. His head jerks backward, slamming hard into the unforgiving marble floor.

"Ow!" he yells, swearing loudly. That had to hurt. Hopefully it left a mark so he won't forget the fierce young witch that fought for her life for the second time on the floor of the Hogwarts infirmary.

I'm not feeling very fierce though as I scramble off of him. Though adrenaline still drives me, weakness and dizziness drag me down. Feebly I crawl on all fours, groping in the darkness for the discarded wand or any weapon. My assassin though has other ideas. He grabs my ankle, stopping me in my tracks. I twist onto my side, aiming to kick him with my free foot. He ducks his head and lunges forward, tying both my legs down beneath his warm body. I squirm and writhe, blindingly clawing at him as I try to wrestle out of his grasp but it's a losing battle. In an instant I'm on my back, with my arms caged and pinned down by his crushing weight.

I suck in a breath for a scream, but all that comes out is a groan as I feel the full extent of my injuries. Whatever painkillers Madame Pomfrey gave me are definitely wearing off. A wave of pain runs through my body like a jolt and I shudder beneath the warm body of my captor. His grip loosens on my arms as his hot breath fans out across my cheek. The pain seems to subside and I feel almost comfortable.

Almost.

Something smooth presses against my temple and my body stiffens and then goes limp. While I was making my poor attempt at an escape he'd found his wand. I've lost, I realize with mixed feelings of relief and frustration, but at least it's over.

Brace yourself. But before I can mentally prepare myself, I hear the whispered curse and see a blinding flash of light…

Hissing, I cringe and shut my eyes against the bright light. The stories always say that when you die there would be a white light to guide you but no one ever mentioned the fact that it would be so harsh on the eyes.

"Lily?"

I know that voice and I know as sure as hell that I'm still very much alive but that James Potter won't be for much longer. I'm going to kill that stupid git.

"Lily? Are you okay?" James asks worriedly, touching my shoulder. I feel a weight leave my chest as James gets up and settles on his knees beside me. He rubs my shoulder gently, retaining some of the comforting warmth that I lost as he got off me. Slowly I open my eyes and allow them to gradually adjust to the light which he's kindly taken out of my face.

With every blink his handsome face becomes a bit clearer. Lit by the glow of his wand I can see that his hair is a mess, sticking up in every direction in chaotic but perfect disarray. His concerned hazel eyes which seem to have acquired a darker, gloomier shade of brown than normal are underlined by faint purple patches indicating several sleepless nights. In the weak light of his dimming wand his face looks paler and more serious than I remember. Perhaps it's because his glasses are missing (They're smashed on the ground several feet away where our tussle originally began). Or maybe it's because he isn't the cold-blooded killer I expected him to be, but for whatever strange reason the sight of him takes my breath away.

"Lily?" James repeats anxiously, his hand moving lightly to my cheek.

"James," I breathe at last.

We stare at each other for what seems like ages. I get lost in his eyes. I forget that I hate him, and that I'm supposed to be mad at him, and that right now what I should be doing is beating him to a pulp. The only thing that matters right now is that we're alive and reunited once again.

I struggle to sit up and James rushes to help me. I'm not sure how it happened, surely it was unintentional, but somehow I wound up falling into his arms. He holds me there, hugging me tightly against his chest. I clutch the front of his robes, resting my head on his shoulder. I can feel his heart beating beneath my hand and hear his sigh of relief in my ear. As his chin moves to my head and his hand tangles in my hair, I realize that at this point, a few weeks ago I would've slapped James silly or at least set some boundaries. But that was before I went to stay with the Potters, explored the Moon mausoleum with Sirius, Gracie and James, and then later with James discovered that Hope Adams was very much alive but due to the result of some dark magic had lost her memory and had regressed to the point of childhood. That was before Tiffany lost her father at the Yule Ministry Ball massacre, before James and I promised his parents to watch over Hope at Hogwarts, before Grace informed me that she'd told the Potters that James and I were promised to one another, and before the attack on the train that left me gasping for life. That was before I held James in the Potter's kitchen the morning after the massacre, before the day we lay out in the snow, before he kissed me beneath the mistletoe… So much had changed in that short span of time and yet he was still the same insufferable git.

"Potter! I'm going to murder you for sneaking up on me like that," I growl, though honestly I'm much too tired to move. The adrenaline is gone and with that went the last of my energy.

"It's good to have you back Lily," James chuckles. He hesitates for a moment, before adding in a barely audible voice, "I missed you."

A ridiculously huge grin spreads across my face and I thank Merlin that it's too dark for anyone to see.

"We'll see how much you missed me after I hex you into oblivion," I grumble, struggling to hide my silly smile.

"Lily," he sighs, "I think you've already tortured me enough, don't you think?"

I snort and then I giggle, and all of a sudden I'm laughing uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" he demands.

"You snuck up on me! After everything that happened what did you expect me to do?!" I laugh weakly.

"I never even expected you to be awake. But _obviously_ I should have known that you would be suddenly fully recovered and eagerly waiting in the shadows of the infirmary to attack anything that moved," he says sarcastically. He rubs the back of his head, wincing in pain. "That hurt you know!"

"Well, _obviously_, after all I was aiming to kill you."

"I noticed," James observed dryly.

"It would have hurt a lot more if I had been fully recovered," I point out smugly. "And don't think that I'm finished with you, Potter," I remind him, poking his chest for emphasis, "because I'm not. As soon as I'm one hundred percent it's payback time," I warn him. I attempt a glare but James Potter is having none of it. The brat even has the nerve to grin.

Note to self: work on a more frightening and chilling glare because clearly this one just isn't working.

"I'm serious," I tell him. And I am completely serious. Dead serious.

"You're not Sirius," James quips.

That joke is just about dead but yet my lips are twitching.

"I am too!" I struggle to keep a straight face which is extremely difficult with James Potter looking down at you with a distractingly handsome face lit by an adorable mischievous grin. "Just you wait Potter I'm going to – HEY!" I squeal as James Potter scoops me up in his arms. He lifts me effortlessly, cradling me as if I were a mere child or a hopeless damsel in distress that has just been swept off her feet by her knight in shining armor. Too bad this particular knight's armor and record is a bit tarnished, especially when it comes to obeying the laws of chivalry.

"Put me down Potter or I'll… I'll scream!" I threaten lamely.

He rolls his eyes, not intimidated in the least.

"Lily I suggest you shut up," he grins, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "Or I'll inform Madam Pomfrey that you've taken to savagely attacking innocent well-wishers and that an extra large dose of the dreaded Cure-All might be in order or perhaps a transfer to St. Mungo's insanity ward."

"She won't believe you," I reply confidently. "But she'll definitely believe me when I tell her that you were harassing me!" I hiss between gritted teeth.

"Then I guess I'll have to explain to her how you also gave poor Professor Binns a powerful sleeping draught," he sighs in mock disappointment as my eyes widen.

"Hope did it!" I protest, wondering if James might have given her the idea.

"Madam Pomfrey doesn't know that," James reminds me, winking.

"Just put me down," I grumble, fuming. "I don't want to give you yet another opportunity to feel me up so that you can brag to everyone about how much of a ladies man you are."

I didn't mean to say it. I don't even know why I said it or why I was thinking about it. Even after I said it I don't think it truly sunk in how damaging and destructive voicing that nagging but constantly in the back of my mind opinion really was to James. But instantly everything changes.

"As you wish." James chivalrously drops me so that I land on the tangle of bed sheets in an ungraceful heap.

"Thanks," I snap, struggling to untangle my limbs from the blankets.

James doesn't respond. He just stands there silently watching me as I try to remake the bed and get comfortable. I realize now that I did too much, too soon. Grappling with James was not exactly the best mode of healing and now I'm feeling the repercussions. My limbs are stiff and achy and the wounds in my back threaten to reopen as I twist my body the wrong way. The quilt slips from my fingers, sliding off the bed at his feet. I try to tug it back but he keeps his foot in place and makes no move to pick it up or remove his foot.

"You could help me you know, it wouldn't kill you," I prompt him.

He finally lifts his foot but only so that he can pick it up and hold it out of my reach. Only now do I finally look at his face and realize that the spark is gone from his eyes as well as the grin. In fact his face remains perfectly blank as he slowly hands it back to me.

"I would help you, but then you'd probably think that I'm trying to get into bed with you," he says smiling. But it's a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"Probably," I answer with a shrug, taking the quilt from him and turning away. I spread the quilt out, carefully hiding my face so that he thinks I don't care. But I do and I hate it.

"Let me guess," James begins, sitting down at the edge of the bed so that I have to work harder to avoid looking at him, "You think that all I want is to shag you so that I can make you another notch in my bedpost, right?"

I don't say anything because I know that if I say something I'll give myself away. I try to tell myself that it doesn't matter, that I knew it all along, but there's suddenly a huge lump in my throat that refuses to go away.

"Am I right?" he repeats.

I concentrate on rearranging the quilt though I already finished fixing it several minutes ago. I fold and unfold it and smooth it down over and over again so that I don't have to look at James or think about James and what he might really mean to me.

"Is that why you won't go out with me, Lily?" James asks coldly.

I try to ignore him. I try to tune him out. I tried so hard to ignore my own feelings, but I can't. My eyes burn as the lump in my throat threatens to choke me. Why do I care? Why him? Of all people, why did it have to be Potter?

"Lily!" he explodes. Frustrated with my inattention he grabs my hands in his own, so that I'm forced to face him. The strength with which he squeezes my hands is alarming. My head snaps up and our eyes meet.

"Is it?" he demands, referring to the unanswered question that hangs in the space between us.

The look in his eyes is so intense that it's almost frightening. Even if I had been sure of the answer I think I would have immediately forgotten it after seeing those determined hazel eyes unmasked and unfiltered. Without the usual shield that his glasses provide, they burn even brighter and I'm caught in the fire. I've seen him like this before but despite past experiences a part of me is still terrified of what might happen if I say the wrong thing. Either way I know I'm going to get burned.

"James," I croak, swallowing hard, "you're scaring me."

Instead of backing off, James leans into me so that our faces are a mere breath apart. I try to write this off, recalling that he can't see without his spectacles that he has yet to retrieve. But I know better. His breath is hot on my face and I can feel my cheeks flush as my body automatically responds to his familiar touch with a flare of heat. I lean back but my head hits the wall. He has literally backed me into a corner and he knows it. Now I have no choice but to make my decision and more than likely it will be in his favor, just as he planned.

"I'm scaring you?" he chuckles softly and I wish that the laughter would reach his eyes. "If you're so scared then why won't you answer the question?" he asks, gradually applying pressure to our intertwined hands. I hadn't even noticed what I had done with my fingers and his fingers. It had been just a natural impulse. Now I realize that it was a mistake that must have given my true feelings away. Cursing my weaknesses, especially the ones that James Potter seems to bring out, I wrench them free.

"Just answer me Evans!"

My eyes are burning with tears that I have yet to shed. A mixture of hurt and fury is driving me to the breaking point. I hate him. I hate everything about him. I've never hated someone so much in my entire life because he's broken me. I don't care anymore about who gets hurt. I'll give him his answer whether he likes it or not.

"Well, it's the truth, isn't it? You do want to shag me," I spit at him, enjoying the way his blank face suddenly comes to life, flushed, angry and hurt, exactly like I feel. "You even told your mother that," I sneer, feeling a sickening thrill at the power I suddenly have over him.

"Leave my mother out of this!" he snarls, shoving me hard against the wall.

That was a low blow, I realize. But I'm still mad at him for telling his mother that I was not only sleeping with him but that I was promised to him. Even if it was Gracie's idea, he was probably more than happy to go along with it.

"You don't understand anything," James hisses and my anger flares up to match his own.

"On the contrary I think I understand perfectly," I say chillingly, wondering when and how I had become so capable of being so cold, "You only want me because you can't have me."

"No," James shakes his head.

"Face it Potter. I'm the only girl that's ever refused you. In fact I'm probably the only thing that you've ever wanted that you couldn't get your hands on and because of that you won't stop until I'm yours."

"That's not true," James protests, but his voice is quieter and I realize with a sinking feeling that a part of me has been right all along. So I go on, though it becomes increasingly more difficult for me to stay angry when all I want to do is cry.

"I could've said yes to you," I begin quietly, drawing a shaky breath as the whole beautiful scene unravels before my eyes, "You would have dated me for a few weeks, paraded me around so that everyone knew that I'd given into you. You'd tell me that you loved me and I'd believe you." I pause again, fighting hard against the sob that threatens to rise in my throat as reality checks me and my fairytale turns ugly.

"Then I'd sleep with you," I whisper, swallowing hard, "And you would tell everyone that you'd finally gotten me, the girl who said no, the one thing you couldn't have. A month or perhaps a week or a few days later you'd grow bored with me. Some other elusive girl would catch your attention and draw you into the chase once more. And then you'd toss me aside and move onto her as if nothing ever happened."

There, I've said it. My deepest fear is finally out in the open and with it comes the reluctant revelation that James Potter is not simply an attractive boy that I could have a fling with to get it out of my system. James is something more. If I were to say yes I know that I would fall in love with him, without a doubt. I can't ever let that happen.

"I wouldn't do that to you," James says softly.

"Yes, you would," I insist furiously, fighting back tears. "You've done it before. Actually you've broken the hearts of many girls, including my friend Tiffany Crowley," I add.

"For Merlin's sake, we were twelve!"

"You were fourteen!" I correct him, "And she was crushed for weeks," I remind him, exaggerating a bit. I neglect to mention the fact that Tiffany had had no problem quickly moving onto his best friend Sirius Black as well as several other successive boyfriends.

"That was different. Tiffany didn't mean anything to me."

The words are out of his mouth before he can reel them back in. I smile coldly, blinking back tears. He's just confirmed my point.

"None of them meant anything to you James, once you got what you wanted from them," I finish for him. He tries to interrupt but I'm compelled to continue until every word that I've been holding back is finally said.

"Have you ever considered how they might've felt? You hurt them and now you want to do the same to me. I want you to talk to one of them, really talk to one of them and then ask yourself if you can blame me for refusing you."

James sits there stunned and confused. He didn't see that one coming and perhaps he's actually taking my words to heart. After a pregnant pause he lifts his eyes to me and whispers the words that I'm dreading.

"I care about you Lily."

"You think you care for me-"

But this time it's James that interrupts me.

"I don't think you get it," he continues, shaking his head, "You're different from any other girl I've ever fancied. You're beautiful, you're smart, you're funny, you're passionate…" he trails off and despite my better judgment I find myself waiting on bated breath for him to finish. "You're perfect!" he finally laughs bitterly.

"I'm not-" but James goes on as if he never heard my stammered denial.

"But maybe that's the problem," he muses, "I'm not perfect enough for you."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" I splutter. "No one's perfect!"

"Then why won't you go out with me Lily?" James demands, arresting me with his burning gaze. The fire has flared to life once more and I feel exposed beneath those smoldering hazel eyes.

"You'd hurt me," I whisper.

"You're scared that I'll break your heart even though I've told you time after time that you're different from the others," he concludes, reading me like an open book. "Why won't you believe me Lily?" He looks down at me, hurt and wounded but impatient and angry. His hand reaches for my cheek but stops when he notices how I pull away.

"You told the others the same thing," I remind him.

"You don't know that for sure," he points out and he's right of course. "But you don't trust me."

"Why should I?" I ask, scanning his face desperately for something that I already know isn't there. "Give me one reason why I should."

"I'll do better than that," he whispers, coming dangerously close to me, "I'll give you three."

"I'm waiting," I clear my throat, impatiently, unfazed on the outside but a complete mess just below the skin's surface. My heart is racing, my mouth is dry and James Potter is causing butterflies to erupt in my stomach.

"You're driving me crazy," he whispers hoarsely, his hand finally catching my chin so that I can't look away. As if I could. "And I've already told you, I don't think I've ever felt this way before, but you're different Lily and I love that," he breathes, his eyes shining as his thumb gently brushes my lower lip.

"I care about you Lily, and I wouldn't ask you to give us a chance unless I thought it was something worth fighting for, but I'm finally getting to you Lily, am I right? You've grown to care for me. Perhaps, after all these years, secretly you're madly in love with me." He smirks. "That's why you won't go out with me, because you're scared."

There's no use in denying it. That arrogant toerag would go on believing it even if it wasn't so blatantly obvious.

"Even if that was the case," my voice wobbles and his smirk widens, "you still only gave me two reasons, not three," I point out.

"I'm getting there," he chuckles softly, making his move at last.

He kisses me.

…

I can't think. I don't want to think. My traitorous body has betrayed me, overwhelmed by the warm body pressing hard against my own. I should make him stop. I should really slap him. But his mouth is soft and welcoming and he tastes forbidden. Cornered and caged, all I can do is respond. Suddenly, I'm kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He's deepening the kiss and I'm indulging my deepest, darkest fantasy, running my hand through his soft, unruly hair. His hands are in my hair now. Then they wander, stroking my back as they move south. I shiver as his lips move to my neck and then my collarbone and finally pull away.

"Go out with me Lily," he coaxes, nipping at my ear. I gasp.

"I know you want too."

This isn't fair. How can he expect me to make the right and honest decision if he's doing _that_. He thinks I'm going to say yes. I can almost feel him smirking against my chest as his lips bury lower, his hand gently stroking the prize that he's inches away from winning.

"No," I whisper.

I will not be a prize to be won.

"What?" James asks, challenging me to refuse him, to put an end to it, even though every part of me is screaming for him to continue. He knows exactly where to touch, what to do, because he's done it before. I'm not the first… and I won't be the last. I close my eyes and all at once the tears begin to fall.

"Lily?"

"I said no!" I sob.

And just like that, it ends. James angrily pulls back not even bothering to hide the impatience and fury written all over his face. He swings his legs back over the side of the bed, settling his hands upon his knees. I watch him, frustrated, run a hand through his hair as he tries to burn a hole in the floor with his blazing eyes. I'm unable to look away, even as the hot salty tears silently slide down my cheeks. I feel as if I've made a terrible mistake.

"James," I whisper.

"You're a coward Lily, that's what you are," he interrupts me, lifting his eyes from the floor but refusing to turn his head. I can see his jaw tightening, a muscle flexing. "All I'm asking for is a chance."

"Please, just stop," I plead with him softly.

He turns to me and catches sight of my tears and instantly the tension leaves his body. Remorse begins to shine through, though his jaw refuses to relax. He can't let go of his anger yet. His hand lifts hesitantly, but I shy away from him, pulling my knees to my chest. This only seems to wound him further, fueling his anger.

"Damn it, Lily! If you didn't want to go out with you than why did you kiss me back!?"

I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out why I stopped him. I grab the sheets and pull them up over my suddenly cold body. I had to stop him because that was the logical thing to do. Then why does it feel so wrong? Exhausted, I rub my eyes and sink back into the pillows.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand you, Lily," James sighs, standing. "I would've stopped if you asked, but you didn't. I just-" he pauses, searching for the right words. While he chooses his words carefully, he picks up the covers, tucking me into bed. I'm too tired to protest but I roll onto my side so that my back is to him.

"I just wish that you would give me a chance. I know I've made some mistakes in the past, and I know I still make mistakes but no one's perfect Lily, and you need to learn to trust, even if it means admitting that you're scared and not as perfect as you'd lead everyone else to believe."

"Lily," he breathes; leaning over me. "I'll do anything if you'll just trust me." He strokes my hair and I have to suppress the urge to fling myself into his arms. Why won't he just go? Can't he see that he's only making this harder for me?

"Leave me alone," I whisper, feebly.

James pulls his hand back and I regret my words.

"Is that what you want?" he inquires softly.

It's not what I want. I want him to stay. But the words won't come.

"Fine, I'm leaving."

I can hear the hurt in his voice and the finality of his goodbye, but I don't stop him. He takes his time leaving the room, cleaning up the table, readjusting the curtain, locating his glasses, in fact it seems like it takes him hours for his footsteps to finally disappear leaving me alone with only the sound of my ragged sobs and the beating of my broken heart to keep me company. I didn't stop him, I didn't even try. I shove my face into the pillow, curl up in a ball, and then I cowardly cry myself to sleep.

**A/N**: Okay it's 2:30 in the morning, I have to go pee really bad, it's not June like I promised but I finally finished the chapter! I really hope you like this chapter because I'm pleasantly surprised at how the last part turned out. I enjoyed writing it even if it is full of grammatical errors, though I realize that very few people seem to care about these. Despite this I am sort of looking for a beta though I'm a slow and sporadic updater. Even if you've offered before, let me know if you're interested though who knows when I'll get the next chapter out. I promise there will be more answers in the next chapter, I have not forgotten the plot and I'm not getting side tracked, but this scene was begging me to be written. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to my readers! You are the only reason why I am still writing this story. I love reading reviews, especially the longer ones. I love responding but I really have to go pee and I think that this update is overdue as it is. So thank you _WhiteCamellia, JainaSolo18, Justalittleloco, Sarahrules336, LilyHeartsJames, DancingCavalier, -EHWIES-, radical-rebel, CY 3, Courtney, Jessiquie, Bombshell9, Siriusblack18, xTamikax, Stag-plushie, An Aspiring Author, is-a-palindrome, EvilFaerie17, Jaliy, callmeGreen-Eyes, rachy, Hoeun, knl2012, FairyGirl03, serenity12345, HP's greatest fan, JustCallMeDollFace, Cre8ive88, chelli, Amalia Lupin, sig, gitgit, BlaireVolturi, quidditchrox, Alanna n' Jon 4ever, bookworm1232, celeste576012, threstralwhisperer, latingeek, Kayee., moosie-blackdog, xaddictedx, STonks, honeybeebeauty, Burgundy Pirate, suzy, Edwardandbellaforever25, m and Michelle Hill_. I'm sorry if I forgot anyone and I promise I will get the next chapter out ASAP! I'm setting a deadline for August… so we'll see!


	24. Catching Up

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: _It's not mine. _

**A/N**: _Well the update is early, but I split a potentially long chapter into two. I hope no one is disappointed, I'm still shooting for another update in August so keep your fingers crossed!_

**Chapter 23: Catching Up**

A horrible noise disrupts my slumber. It sounds like freight train about to be derailed or perhaps a car stuck in a snow bank complete with a wheezing engine struggling to turn over and balding tires screeching and squealing as they spin on ice. At first I wonder if perhaps it's my sister Petunia screeching away like a banshee in the shower across the hall from my bedroom, but Petunia sounds much worse, and I've been unofficially banned from my own home for my family's protection. If it can't be Petunia then it must be my roommate Tiffany Crowley snoring in the bed on the other side of our dorm. But I don't recall her snores ever being this bad. This is what I imagine a symphony would sound like… in hell.

"Tiff, I'm going to kill you," I groan, realizing that my pillow or anything else I can get my hands on is not going to be able to block out her snores. Reluctantly I peel my makeshift insulator from my ears, transforming the pillow into artillery which I blindly hurl at the bed beside me.

I open my eyes just in time to watch my pillow hit its target square on with an accuracy that even James Potter, Gryffindor's star chaser, would have been envious of. Unfortunately it didn't hit Tiffany, because Tiffany's not the occupant of the bed beside me, it's Professor Binns.

I stifle a gasp, an immediate apology surging to my lips. But it's unnecessary. The elderly professor goes on sleeping and snoring blissfully unaware that he's just given me a worse punishment than any possible number of deducted house points or awarded detentions.

"Kind of makes you want to hex him into oblivion," Hope mutters from somewhere behind the curtained domain that I currently share with my snoring History of Magic professor.

"You're going to be the first person I hex when I get my wand back," I grumble under my breath. Hope's the one that gave the professor her dreamless sleeping potion and got me into this situation in the first place. I'm almost absolutely certain that James Potter was responsible for planting that idea in her head, but he's already at the very top of my hit list.

I fold my arms over my chest and glare at Professor Binns as if it's his fault that James is currently my least favorite person on the planet (though Hope and Professor Binns are right up there with him). Last night James came to visit me and though it started innocently enough (I savagely attacked James, thinking he was a blood thirsty assassin that came to finish me off) it ended dreadfully.

James kissed me.

No, he practically raped me and while he was lustfully ravishing me he had the nerve to ask me out for the millionth time and tell me how wonderfully different I was from all the other girls he fancied.

I hate him. What I hate even more than Potter, Binns snoring and Hope's stupidity combined is the fact that I enjoyed every minute of our passionate kiss, and I nearly believed every beautiful lie that came out of his big fat mouth. And then when I told him to leave me alone… he did. After all these years, Potter finally listens to me at the very moment that I change my mind and decide that I want him to stay.

Damn Potter. I hate him.

"So you're awake at last, Ms. Evans," Madam Pomfrey observes, looking displeased and unsurprised. I have a sneaking suspicion that she might have already seen the damage I did to my back. Several of the newly healed wounds reopened when I decided to wrestle with James on the floor of the infirmary last night. Chalk that up as yet another reason to hate Potter. She checks me over, casting dark looks in Hope's direction, obviously blaming the most likely culprit. Perhaps Hope's fears of the healer weren't unfounded after all.

"I'm sorry about this arrangement Ms. Evans," she gestures helplessly to the snoring and wheezing Professor Binns. "But I'm afraid it cannot helped considering another patient demands to be quarantined until further notice. But I can assure you this will be very temporary," Madam Pomfrey raises her voice a bit so that Hope can hear everything. I can almost feel her eyes burning holes in the curtain as they search out the cowering Hope.

She's probably under the bed again. Stupid coward, I have yet to forgive her for abandoning me so that I was left alone with James last night. And the fact that Professor Binns (who smells like something moldy and indistinguishable you find in the back of the refrigerator several years later) is snoring in my ear is not helping matters.

"MADAM POMFREY COME QUICKLY!" the breathless voice of James Potter interrupts my brooding, nearly causing my bones to jump out of my skin and a potentially deadly wipe out. I catch myself in the nick of time, toppling onto Professor Binn's bed instead of the floor. At least Binns is good for something.

"James Potter, what on earth is the matter?" Madam Pomfrey demands. I quickly crawl over Binns (who never stops snoring) and carefully peek through a crack in the curtains.

"There was an explosion in Potions! You have to come at once!" James explains through dramatic gasps of breath. "I'm afraid some of the students were injured and no one's able to patch up wounds and broken bones like you Madam Pomfrey, we need you!" he pleads desperately.

I roll my eyes, half expecting him to get down on his hands and knees and beg for her to come. But James Potter doesn't have to do this, he charmed Madam Pomfrey the first day he met her and has had her heart ever since. During the six years I've known James Potter, I've had to sit and watch as practically every witch (and wizard) at Hogwarts has allowed his or herself to fall for the Potter Charm, never seeing James Potter for what he really is; an excellent actor that knows exactly how to get what he wants usually through flattery.

Madam Pomfrey is already out the door, running toward the dungeons even though I know that James Potter is lying and clearly up to something. Perhaps it's the way he lingers in the doorway a moment too long, his eyes finding mine. Or maybe it's the way he grins when our eyes meet and then he deliberately winks at me. I have the curtain halfway pushed back, barely registering the fact that I'm in full view, hanging off the side of Professor Binn's bed and in nothing but a thin hospital gown, but I do notice that there's something sad about his demeanor and there's little warmth in his smile. I had half hoped that perhaps all of this would blow over and that everything would go back to normal. With one look in James's eyes my hopes fade. He can't put this behind him and forgive me…yet.

"LILY!"

I had been so busy watching James's every move and so wrapped up in my thoughts that I failed to realize that a small group of my friends had slipped into the infirmary as soon as Madam Pomfrey left. I recover quickly though, scrambling off Professor Binn's bed so that I can meet Gracie halfway. She pulls me into her arms and I hug her back fiercely. Despite the fact that I had been unconscious for most of my ten day stay in the infirmary I had missed my friends terribly, especially Gracie.

"Thank Merlin you're alright!" Gracie exclaims, reluctantly pulling away so that Tiffany and Alice can have a chance to hug me.

"Lily, I haven't seen you in years," Alice cries, elbowing Grace and Tiffany out of the way so that she can hug me next. "Oh, Lily, we were so worried. They said someone had been hurt on the train but we didn't know it was you! When Grace told me…" she trails off, her eyes shining and her bottom lip trembling. Alice always gets a little emotional.

"We knew you'd pull through of course," Tiffany speaks up quietly but confidently, as Alice steps to the side and I hug her last. "I told those silly Ravenclaws, that you were made of much stronger stuff than that. You wouldn't leave us, at least not without saying goodbye, would you Lily?" her voice quivers and I can tell by the anxious look that Gracie and Alice exchange that Tiffany's losing control and that it has nothing to do with me. "They wouldn't listen to me though. They stayed by your side all night, and all the next day, and they – they t-told us you'd d-d-die, just like…" Tiffany stops abruptly, her late father's name hanging in the air between us. She tightens her hold on me, visibly shaking with a repressed sob.

"You were right though, Tiff, as always," James Potter says gently, joining us. "Lily came back, just like you said she would, those silly Ravenclaws don't know anything."

"Yea, I'm back and here to stay," I reassure her.

"Darn, Alice and I were all set to split up your record collection if Gracie hadn't threatened to kill us," James jokes and we all crack a grin because James doesn't even know what a record is and Alice hates them. He only mentioned it because it's common knowledge that Alice complains about my lousy taste in music and that Gracie has an odd obsession with the muggle records and has already claimed them as part of her inheritance if I happen to die.

"And Tiffany and I were ready to take over your top spot in Potions," Gracie jokes making us laugh, Tiffany loudest of them all, because Grace only made it into Potions because Slughorn liked her parents and Tiffany doesn't even take Potions anymore because she found the troublesome class so dreadfully boring and difficult.

"Speaking of Potions, Madam Pomfrey should be on her way back any minute now and I'm sure good old Slughorn is missing us," James reminds them.

Gracie and Alice groan, obviously looking forward to returning to a fun-filled Potion's class. Tiffany looks saddened once more, but she hugs me again and says her goodbyes with Alice and Gracie.

Before she leaves though, she whispers in my ear, "Thanks for coming back." And I'm reminded once more of the state in which we found her at her father's funeral and that her family at Hogwarts is the only family she has left.

"She's getting better," Gracie assures me, when she sees my eyes following Tiffany as she runs over to James. "Not one-hundred percent back to normal, but she's doing better," she adds, nodding as if to convince herself.

"It hasn't been a month yet, but the Marauders have been great with her, making her laugh, helping her with her homework, taking care of her, especially him," Alice informs me, though she looks pointedly at Gracie. Grace acts as if she hadn't heard Alice, instead focusing on James who's joking around with Tiffany while he waits for Grace and Alice and keeps a lookout for Madam Pomfrey.

Alice clears her throat.

"Personally, I think it would be great if a certain Marauder asked Tiffany-"

"Give it a rest, Alice!" Grace snaps, rounding on her suddenly.

"I'm just saying that maybe if someone else asked her," Alice continues boldly, "Tiffany wouldn't be going with that slime ball that's been sniffing around McLaggen now that the polls have been published-"

"What?" I interrupt when the conversation turns to my banshee of a room mate, Debby McLaggen.

"Let's go, Alice!" Grace says irritably. "Slughorn's probably noticed that we've gone missing by now and even an excuse of visiting his favorite student isn't going to save us this time." She grabs Alice by the arm, physically dragging her away. I walk them to the entrance and notice much to my disappointment that James and Tiffany are already gone.

"'Bye Lily!" Alice calls over her shoulder.

Grace storms off without a backward glance, pulling Alice with her.

As soon as they're out of ear-shot, Grace angrily resumes her argument with Alice. What they don't realize is that I took a risk and snuck out of the infirmary and followed them into an empty corridor. I know that look, I've seen it on Gracie's face many times and I immediately knew that as soon as they turned the second corner and the coast was clear, Grace would explode. It wasn't my intention to follow them, it just sort of happened… Oh, alright so I planned it. But I couldn't help it, the only time I've ever seen Grace and Alice argue was over their taste in muggle music and I had to know what it was that Alice was talking about that Gracie seemed so eager to hide from me. I know from experience that Grace is a guarded secret keeper and that this was the only way I'd ever find out anything once Grace decided that it wasn't for my precious ears to hear.

"Alice, why'd you have to bring that up!" Grace bursts out, once she's sure that they're alone. She must be really angry because she didn't do a very good job checking, seeing as I'm hiding in an alcove less than twenty feet from where they stand belligerently facing one another.

"You know why I brought it up! It's been almost a month and Tiffany's still crying herself to sleep every night, thanks to that slime ball and the banshee," Alice fires back at her. In all my years at Hogwarts I've never seen Alice this angry. Gracie yes, several times, Alice, definitely not.

"I told you we'd discuss this later, preferably when Lily and Tiffany aren't standing right there where they can hear every word!" Grace hisses.

"Who cares if they hear, Tiffany already knows that I think her Slytherin boyfriend Zambini's a slippery snake and she can't honestly believe that nothing's going on between him and McLaggen, especially after the polls were published a few days ago. Her father's ahead by nearly eighteen points, Grace! If her father's elected Minister of Magic, she'll have the whole school worshipping her!"

"I know Alice!" Grace barks, rubbing her temple as if her head hurts. I can feel a headache coming on as well. I had no idea that there was to be a new Minister of Magic, let alone the father of our despised room mate who's made it a point to torture each and every one of us at some point of our six years together, most recently Gracie. Though we all saw how that one ended… I grin, remembering how Gracie broke McLaggen's perfect little nose with a well placed punch.

"All I'm saying is that if Sirius asks her to the Valentine's Party next week," Alice suggests gently, but it doesn't go over well.

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Gracie shouts back at her, losing her temper.

Alice smirks, looking as if she too has the strong temptation to laugh. I get the idea that Tiffany wasn't the only one that Alice had wanted to discuss.

"You're right Sirius has probably asked someone already," Alice continues, adopting a thoughtful tone that doesn't fool any of us.

"Not to mention the fact that he's worse than Zambini when it comes to women," Gracie adds hastily with a scowl, though she's still blushing.

"Which is why James would be a perfect candidate," Alice says finally.

My knees abruptly give out and I slide down to the floor of the alcove. I'm not sure why I suddenly can't breathe. Perhaps it's because it's so shocking and surprising. Or maybe it's because I'm laughing, or at least I think I'm laughing. But I'm having some difficulty breathing and can't be sure that that breathy laugh is coming from me. It seems to be coming from a long way off.

Tiffany Crowley and James Potter?! Alice can't be serious. But I know Alice, and I know that she wouldn't suggest something like that unless she was in fact, completely serious.

"What's wrong with Remus?" Grace asks beating around the bush, instead of agreeing or disagreeing with Alice.

"Nothing's wrong with Remus, it's just that…" Alice responds hesitantly, looking as if she wants to say more about Remus and why he's not right for Tiffany but doesn't know how to word it. "I don't think he's going to the Valentine's Party. He said something to Tiffany about a prior engagement. He's always mysteriously vanishing like that. You know, personally I think he might have a secret lover…" Alice takes one look at Gracie's incredulous face, and thankfully doesn't go any further with her wild imagination, no doubt fed by the rumor mills, or I might have burst out laughing again and gave myself away.

I snort, swallowing a burst of giggles. Nothing could be further than the truth and Grace and I both know it. Unfortunately Remus Lupin can't come right out with it and tell everyone that he's a werewolf and will be unavailable during the full moon. I can just imagine what kind of reaction he would get.

"So, that makes Remus ineligible, but what's so bad about James?" Alice wants to know.

"Well, for one, I have a hunch that James fancies Lily," Grace says sarcastically, and I bite back another laugh.

"Everyone knows that! But Lily doesn't like James. She would rather go out with the Giant Squid!"

I hug my knees to my chest knowing that up until a few weeks ago Alice probably would have been right. But after staying with James for the second time, things had changed. I'm not sure when or how or if it was for the worse or for the better but something had changed between us and I had yet to decide what to do about it.

"Alice we don't know that for sure," Gracie's voice is so quiet that I have to strain my ears in order to hear.

"Has she led you to believe any differently?" Alice asks curiously.

"No," Gracie grudgingly admits, "but that doesn't mean anything. Some people don't wear their hearts on their sleeves. You're one to talk Alice, considering how things are between you and Frank." I grin watching as Alice's face turns a brilliant shade of pink.

Alice blushes hotly but pretends she didn't catch Gracie's last comment as she shoulders on determinedly.

"All I'm saying is that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if James were to, you know, back off a bit and give Lily a break, perhaps so she can sort out her feelings or try dating someone else without James in her face asking her out every five seconds. And I'm not suggesting that James and Tiffany get married or even start dating, it's just…" Alice sighs. "Tiffany's my best friend and I have a feeling that if we don't intervene now, Zambini's going to screw her over."

"But Tiffany's strong, she'll bounce back like she always does," Grace argues.

"Not this time Grace, I'm sure you remember what it was like after you lost your family…"

Alice doesn't have to say anymore, she has Gracie there. After a pregnant pause Alice steps closer and turns around so that they're side by side leaning against the same wall.

"I just want to help her Grace," Alice whispers looking down at her hands. "And this is the only way I know how. I'm sure you'd do the same for Lily."

"Of course," Grace answers automatically, and I know she would just as I would do anything for her.

"If you could just talk to James, and perhaps Tiffany and Lily too."

"Alice," Grace interrupts, studying a tapestry on the opposite wall. "Perhaps interfering in our friend's love life isn't the best way to help her."

"That's a bit hypocritical, coming from you Grace, when you told your Aunt and Uncle that your best friend was promised to their son," Alice retorts.

Grace goes completely rigid, her hackles rising.

"Who told you?"

"No one, you and James started fighting right there outside the infirmary just after we got back to Hogwarts. Frank and I were – well, it wasn't very difficult to hear you since you were practically screaming at each other," Alice blurts out, blushing furiously, making me wonder if perhaps there was more to the story than Alice let on.

Gracie's shoulders slump as if this is the one fight she just can't win. She looked just like that when I cornered her on the train minutes before I was attacked.

"I'm sorry Grace, I didn't mean to bring it up," Alice apologizes.

"I had to Alice," Grace whispers, staring off at the tapestry again.

"I know," Alice nods, sympathetically.

"Lily couldn't understand. She got so mad at me after James told her. That's why no one heard us and why no one came to help until it was nearly too late. Lily had soundproofed and locked the compartment so that she could yell at me." She pauses for a moment, balling her hands into fists.

"If I hadn't told them, perhaps Lily wouldn't have gotten hurt," she says in a small guilt-ridden voice.

I want to go to her, but I can't bring myself to move from the place where I sit hidden in the shadowed alcove hugging my knees to my chest.

"That's not true Grace, you can't blame yourself, there was nothing you could have done to prevent it," Alice soothes her, saying the words that I'm not brave enough to speak. Because to be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive Gracie for saying those things about James and me, to his parents of all people.

"If it makes you feel any better, I had to promise myself to Frank," Alice whispers so softly that I wonder if I heard her correctly. Her cheeks flare up again, but she goes on quietly explaining, "Frank's mother, you know how protective she is of Frank, put up all kinds of protections on the house and one of them required a blood bond." She stops to catch her breath.

"We were barely fourteen. I don't even think we knew what we were doing. I'm still not sure if Frank realizes it," she pauses, her eyes tearing up. "Of course there's ways around it, it's not completely binding."

"Alice," Grace sighs, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "When are you going to realize that that boy is head over heels in love with you."

I silently laugh. Leave it to Grace to come right out and say what we've all been trying to tell her for the past three years.

"He won't make a move on me," Alice bursts out, frustrated, "I keep waiting, but he won't do anything!"

"Maybe you have to make the first move then," Grace suggests with an amused smile.

"What if he just wants to be friends?" Alice asks worriedly.

If Frank isn't madly in love with Alice than I will eat my sneaker and elope with Severus Snape.

"That's a risk you have to take," Grace squeezes Alice's shoulder. "But I have a hunch that Frank feels the same way that you do. I think he's just a wee bit scared that you might want to be just friends too."

Alice laughs softly, sniffling.

"I'll see what I can do about James and Tiffany," Grace decides.

My heart plunges when Grace finally agrees with Alice, but then Alice's words rush back to me. I had of course noticed Tiffany and Zambini together on a few occasions before the start of the winter break. Zambini though a slimeball, was pureblooded, rich, polite for a Slytherin, and very attractive. Despite being decent for a Slytherin, Zambini had one weakness and that was Debby McLaggen, our banshee of a room mate. I hadn't realized that things had gotten so serious between Tiffany and Zambini. Perhaps that was who Tiffany had gone to at Hogwarts when she found her father was dead though I hadn't seen him at the funeral.

"Oh, Gracie, thank you!" Alice cries, throwing her arms around her. "He doesn't have to ask her out or anything, they could go as friends, I just don't want Tiffany to get hurt by that slimeball Zambini…"

"I'm sure James will be more than willing to help once he finds out it could potentially involve torturing a Slytherin." Grace grins, her eyes dancing mischievously.

"Oh, dear, I don't even want to know what you have in mind. Don't kill him Grace, he hasn't done any damage yet."

"Trust me darling, what I had in mind is something much better."

"Grace!" Alice says warningly, and Gracie laughs.

"If you hurry, you might still be able to catch Frank at lunch!"

"Oh, no! We missed Potions!" Alice gasps, giggling guiltily.

Grace shrugs.

"I'm sure that cutting one class isn't going to prevent you from becoming an Auror."

Alice has no choice but to take her word for it.

"I better hurry, Frank's probably mad that we left him to suffer through potions alone. Thanks again Gracie, for everything," Alice says gratefully, before hurrying off to meet Frank in the Great Hall.

Grace watches her until she disappears around the corner and out of sight. Then she looks straight at the alcove where I'm hiding. Wordlessly she walks over to it, pushes back the tapestry and crawls in beside me.

"How'd you know I was here?" I ask a little disappointed that she found my clever hideout.

"I heard you laughing," Gracie answers with a wicked grin.

"You could have said something," I tell her, wondering why during the entire conversation she'd never let on that she'd noticed they'd had an audience.

"I figured that since you had the nerve to eavesdrop, I'd make you suffer in uncomfortable silence."

"Thanks Grace," I say sarcastically.

"Anytime," she yawns, leaning back on her hands.

"Slughorn's going to be furious that you missed out on his fascinating Potion's class," I remark.

"Nah, I'll just tell him that I was visiting his favorite student and if that doesn't work then I'll casually mention that I am after all the daughter of Mark and Hope Adams and I'll be back in his good books in no time," she replies. "But I think the real question is what are you going to tell Madam Pomfrey?" she inquires, raising an eyebrow.

She has me there, still I fumble for a quick excuse, though lying has never been my strong suit.

"I'll tell her that I was abducted by aliens and brought back to their planet to meet their leader."

Grace stares at me, and then she just shakes her head as if I'm a lost cause.

"We'll have to work on a more _believable_ lie," she finally says, smiling.

We sit like that in contented silence before she breaks the silence with a long awaited apology.

"I'm sorry Lily, I shouldn't have told my Aunt and Uncle that you were promised to James, at least not without first explaining to you the reason why I had to do it, but I knew you were going to freak and I thought that maybe James could keep his mouth shut."

I chuckle softly.

"You were wrong on both accounts. Though I would have blown up at you at first, I think now I understand."

"You do?" Grace asks hopefully.

I nod, smiling at my best friend.

"It's like Alice said, some of the protection charms on the house probably require a blood bond. With all the attacks and the murders I'm sure your Aunt and Uncle have doubled up on the wards and the last thing they wanted in their house was someone that could possibly prove to be an unintentional chink in the armor."

Grace returns my smile, but runs a hand through her hair.

"There's a lot more to it I'm afraid," she sighs, wearily. "But I think it's about time that I start explaining things to you, instead of putting it off all the time."

I privately agree with her. Honestly though, with everything going on I had completely forgotten the many things that Grace and James had once promised to explain to me so many months before. Now though I can feel the familiar curiosity that landed me in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw. A million questions are suddenly in the front of my mind, and it feels like just yesterday when I was sitting in my bedroom on September first with Gracie and James standing before me, arguing over who was going to have to answer to my unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Was it really that long ago when what little grasp I seemed to have on the wizarding world started to slip away even as I established it even more firmly as my home?

"I should probably start with the protections on the house," Grace begins.

"Or you could start with Sirius," I suggest.

"What about him?" she asks, keeping her face carefully blank, but she can't fool me.

"What's going on between you two?" I demand to know.

"The same thing that's on between you and my cousin," Grace answers, smirking.

"So you're promised to him?" I ask.

"Well, not exactly…" Grace studies me closely, as if trying to find the secrets that I'm keeping from her, most of which, actually all of which involve the cousin in question. But I'm not ready to share them with her, at least not until she shares a few of her own with me.

"What is this, the inquisition? Perhaps Lily, we could switch roles for a while. I've suddenly discovered how many questions I have for you… For starters maybe you could tell me why my Aunt, who doesn't fool easily, is completely convinced that you're sleeping with her son."

I blush beneath her gaze, but I refuse to back down, not now when I'm so close to discovering the truth…

"No way, you promised me answers and after four months, I think I deserve some," I remind her, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Fine," Gracie sighs again. "But no more questions about Sirius until I get some answers about James."

"Deal," I agree, and we shake on it.

Gracie takes out her wand and points it at the tapestry soundproofing our secret hideout and sealing it off, just in case. There won't be any interruptions this time.

"Now, I think we're ready," she says satisfied, as she pockets her wand once more. "Where was I? I think I was talking about the house. Well I suppose I should back up a bit. This is going to take a while so make yourself comfortable."

I lean back against the wall, ignoring the racing of my beating heart as Gracie finally begins to explain what's been going on in the wizarding world and how her family wound up in the very heart of it.

* * *

**A/N**: _So once again this chapter kind of took on a life of it's own and I had to cut it down before it got too long or the interesting part started because I don't know when I'll be able to update again. I'm burning the midnight oil so I apologize for any grammatical errors because I haven't checked it over as thoroughly as I should have. I still hope to update in August because I'm really only giving you half of a chapter. Starting in August I also hope to edit the earlier chapters with the help of those who offered to help me beta! Thank you again I will be getting in touch with you wonderful people soon! And a huge THANK YOU to my reviewers. I would have abandoned this story a long time ago if it wasn't for you guys which would be unfortunate because I really enjoy writing it, so kudos to you all for making me smile and helping me to improve my writing with constructive criticism. THANKS!_


	25. Gracie Explains It All

I'll Fight For You

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: _I would to quote Lily and James "Eat my sneaker" to have even a tenth of J.K. Rowling's creative genius and skill. _

**A/N**:_ Warning there are a lot of references to earlier events that happened in the story. It will probably cause confusion because I started this story a long time ago and I don't expect you to remember half of it. But I think that everything will make sense… eventually, I hope. If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them for you. _

**Chapter 24: Gracie Explains It All **

It's nearly noon, the brightest hour of the day, but hidden behind a dark blue tapestry, curled up in a tiny alcove, the shadows seemed to have lengthened throwing Grace's face into darkness. The tapestry ripples, as outside carefree students pass by probably gossiping about the latest development in the relationship between poor Tiffany Crowley, her slime ball Slytherin boyfriend Dante Zambini and Hogwart's resident slut Debbie McLaggen, or giggling about how sexy James Potter's hair is (Not that I'll ever admit it to his face), or moaning about the torturous Potions class that Grace, Alice and I tragically missed out on. Instead Alice is joining lover boy Frank in the Great Hall, perhaps using me as her excuse, rather than the argument that landed me here, hiding in an alcove, waiting on bated breath for Grace to finally explain to me what the hell is going on in the Wizarding World and why she's kept me in the dark for so long.

"I don't know how to begin," Grace sighs, finally breaking the silence that had once again settled between us. "I guess for me the story started on September 1st."

And I realize that September 1st was also the beginning of my own story, as well as the ending of another.

"That was the day that my family was murdered," she whispers.

Well, Mark and Christopher died that day, but Hope had surprised us all by rising from the ashes. Grace doesn't know this though, and it's up to me and James to make sure that Grace and the rest of the wizarding world never find out the truth about the strange new witch at Hogwarts.

"When they died, the world fell apart." She pauses moving her trembling hand to her chest, where the gaping wound in her heart has yet to heal. After a few moments, she collects herself, struggling onward. "But the truth is the warning signs had been there for months."

"What do you mean?" I ask, frowning.

"Months ago, perhaps even years earlier, we began to hear whisperings about a group of wizards that were practicing dark magic. They called themselves Death Eaters and their leader was said to be so terrifying that we refused to speak his name."

Of course I've heard of Death Eaters. My mind rapidly flashes back to the morning after the night in the mausoleum and I see the headline of Alice's copy of the Daily Prophet: "**DEATH EATERS MAKE AN APPEARANCE AT ANNUAL YULETIDE MINISTRY BALL**". The Death Eaters had killed Tiffany's father, as well as thirteen of his co-workers. I had immediately recognized the Death Eater in the front page photograph as the same killer that had arrived at my house just hours after Gracie's family was attacked, hoping to finish the job off.

"Dad, Mom and Chris weren't the first victims…" Grace trails off. Her eyes take on a far away look as her mind travels back. "There were many others that died before they got to us. But it's difficult for me to remember this because my own tragic loss eclipsed everything else."

Gracie's lips tremble and I realize how difficult this is for her. It's been four months since that tragic day, but it feels like just yesterday when I was sitting with her just like this in our dormitory on our first night back at Hogwarts. I move closer, bumping my shoulder against hers. Her hand rests on the floor beside me and I grab it, gently squeezing it reassuringly. Grace takes a shuddering breath and soldiers on.

"Many wizards and witches had gone missing in the days leading up to September. In addition to the disappearances there had been several mysterious accidents in both the wizarding and muggle worlds that claimed the lives of many."

This was news to me. If something had happened in the muggle world last summer I think I would have noticed. But hold on a second… Hadn't I noticed something in the paper that day that Gracie's parents died? Yes! There had been a suspicious explosion at an antique store in London and I had cut it out intending to save it until James distracted me with a false fire alarm and a fear of muggle stoves.

"They weren't accidents though, and the disappearances weren't by chance either."

"There's something I don't understand," I interrupt her hesitantly, trying to concentrate on my curiosity rather than the fear that creeps into my veins with Gracie's final words. "Why would they go after muggles?" I ask.

"They hate muggles," Grace answers simply.

"But why?" I struggle to understand, trying to put my thoughts into words. "The muggles didn't do anything to them!"

"My parents didn't either," she whispers and I quickly stumble over my self trying to apologize for being so unfeeling. But Grace dismisses my apologies, squeezing my hand.

"They want power Lily and they'll do anything to get it, _anything_," Grace stresses, suddenly turning so that she can meet my eyes. "They're Slytherins, and I think you of all people remember what Salyzer Slytherin was most famous for," she pauses allowing me to quickly come to my own conclusions.

"You mean they're trying to get rid of all the muggleborns?" I gasp.

Gracie nods solemnly.

"But you're a pureblood! Why was your family attacked?" I ask. Then my eyes widen as I blurt out, "It wasn't because you're friends with me, was it?"

"No," Grace laughs bitterly. "The Moons are one of the purest oldest bloodlines in the wizarding world, and the Adams lineage isn't so bad either but my parents weren't bigots. They made it clear that they disagreed with the Death Eater's agenda and publicly spoke out against the destruction and death that the Death Eaters were leaving in their wake. It was no accident that barely two weeks before their death both of my parents were quoted in the Daily Prophet as defending muggleborns and calling for a crack down on suspected Death Eaters."

She stops to catch her breath before launching into a speech that sounds like it had been repeated so many times that all she had to do was hit the play button.

"Their murder did not go down quietly. Up until this point the Daily Prophet had tried to keep it quiet in order to prevent the panic and chaos that was sure to break out if the truth was revealed. But once my parents were killed, two of the Ministry's top employees and descendents of two pureblooded lineages, all hell broke loose."

Hadn't Tiffany said almost the exact same thing to me when she arrived at the Adams funeral? I flash back to the conversation in my mind, remembering how I had poorly gone about trying to sneakily draw the information (that James and Gracie wouldn't tell me) out of Tiffany when I should have just came right out and asked her for the truth. I could have saved Grace the trouble now.

"I remember Tiffany telling me at your family's funeral that because of the murder the first day of Hogwarts was pushed back several days," I recall.

"Not quite," Grace corrects me. "If you remember correctly, you should have received your letter from Hogwarts concerning the delay the night before my parents died, but you got yours later than us and Tiffany must have too and jumped to the same conclusion as you just did."

I remember now. I received the letter from Hogwarts the morning of September 1st at the exact same time that Grace received the letter from the ministry informing her of the deaths of her brother and father and her own missing status as well as her mothers. If only I had paid closer attention to that last part, maybe then Ophelia's surmise about the empty coffin and Hope's sudden reappearance wouldn't have come as such a shock to me.

"What were you and James doing at my house that day anyway?" I interrupt her yet again, as curiosity gets the better of me once more. Grace and James had showed up at my house that morning without any warning, demanding that I come back with them to Gracie's house. Plans quickly changed when the letter announcing its destruction and the murder of its occupants arrived only minutes later while we were still sitting in my bedroom.

"I'm getting there Lily," Grace smiles ruefully at me and I can't help but return it with an apologetic smile of my own.

"I'm sorry, but you never did tell me."

"You know Lily, I wouldn't have to explain half of this stuff if you had only read my letter," Grace says exasperatedly.

"Oh!" I gasp, suddenly recalling how Gracie had in fact sent me a letter the morning of September 1st, explaining "everything" but that had been before Mark and Christopher were murdered and the events that followed. "I'm sorry Grace, I never got a chance to read it. I thought I was going to miss the train and then I ran into James in the hallway, literally, and you were there telling me to pack my stuff and the letters came…"

"It's okay Lily, I'm sure you lost it in all the chaos that day," Grace dismisses it, patting my hand.

Yes, that had been a very chaotic day. _I _had been lucky to survive that day, let alone some stupid letter, however valuable it might have been.

"It wasn't that important anyway. All it basically said was what I'm going to tell you now. On August 29th, three days before everything awful happened someone, probably a Death Eater, broke into the Ministry of Magic and blew up an entire wing of one of the lower levels."

My eyes widen, this was the equivalent to someone bombing Buckingham Palace! No wonder why the Hogwarts term was pushed back a few days. I'm surprised they even let us go back at all. Then again, under Headmaster Dumbledore's watch, Hogwarts has become one of the safest places in the magical world.

"Miraculously no one was hurt, it was after hours and not many people were in the Ministry or in that particular area at the time, but the very fact that they breached the Ministry's powerful wards caused a panic in our world when it leaked to the papers. Perhaps they would have been able to keep it quiet or at least say that it was another one of those accidents except the Death Eater took something with him."

I wait anxiously for her to continue but I'm so impatient that I might explode.

"What was it?"

Grace turns to look at me slowly and then finally, she answers,

"They took the Minister of Magic."

My jaw drops.

"What?! But – didn't you say – I thought no one was hurt!" I splutter, struggling to digest this startling news.

"No one was hurt in the explosion. There were very few people there at the time and they happened to be fortunately positioned in such a way that they were able to avoid injury. Most of them were knocked unconscious, some did obtain minor injuries, but compared to what could have happened they were very lucky."

"That's good, but what happened to the Minister?" I prompt her, eagerly.

"No one's really sure," Grace says, her face contorting into a puzzled frown. "Only two people were conscious to witness what happened after the explosion. There was an injured Auror that saw the Death Eater – or whoever it was – approach the stunned Minister who though unharmed, was on the ground still in shock but had his wand out. The Death Eater demanded something from the Minister, but the Minister refused. Then the Death Eater threatened the Minister, showing him something and warning him that if he didn't give him what he wanted he would blow up the rest of the Ministry and kill every employee that was inside. The Minister hesitated for a moment, and then slowly put down his wand and quietly went with the Death Eater, not fighting or resisting, but simply succumbing to his own defeat and imminent death in the hopes that there was a small chance that he might save the lives of everyone else in the Ministry," Grace finishes softly.

"Did he?" I ask in a hushed voice, after hearing the ending of this story about a man I had never met but suddenly felt sorry for.

Grace smiles sadly.

"Perhaps, more than likely the Death Eater was just bluffing but I guess we'll never know," she says with a shrug.

"So, they killed him?"

"Basically, Auror Kenny, the same auror that witnessed the Minister's final exchange, found the Minster abandoned at a suspected Death Eater's home that the Aurors were raiding a few days later."

"He survived?" I gasp.

"He wasn't dead, if that's what you mean. What they did to him was worse. He'd been beaten and tortured almost to the point of death, and his mind was completely gone. It was awful…" Gracie's hands clench into fists as if she's remembering her own loss. I squeeze her hand, holding it between both of my own.

"The sad part is that he's still alive. Rohan was just telling me today that they don't expect the Minister to hang on much longer. But Rohan said it might be better if he did die, then his family might finally get some closure knowing that he was in a better place…"

I'm not sure if she's talking about the Minister anymore. I think she might be referring to her mother and her own peace that seems to elude her. When Ophelia had told Gracie that Hope's coffin was empty, for a few days Grace's wildest dreams had come true. And then I had opened the coffin, only to find…

I frown, recalling that the coffin hadn't been empty. There had been someone in there, or rather something with a bulging yellow eye that was definitely dead. Perhaps they had put a dummy in the coffin so that people like Grace would be able to find peace, or at least think that their loved ones were in a better place, just as Rohan's family was anxiously anticipating the Minister's last painful day.

"Rohan's the seventh year Ravenclaw prefect, Ophelia's friend?" I inquire, changing the subject to a less painful one.

"Yeah, the Minister's his grandfather," Grace replies, answering the question that I was about to ask.

"He saved your life, you know," she adds, studying the tapestry before us.

"Rohan?"

I'm surprised when she nods, looking down at me with a pained smile.

"After the attack in the compartment, I couldn't do anything. I just froze…" she trails off, swallowing hard. "When I saw the blood, I started screaming, and then James came, but we knew we couldn't save you Lily, and we thought," she stops abruptly, tears brimming in her bright blue eyes. "We thought you were going to die just like my parents and Chris, and I-I couldn't s-s-stop it."

"Oh, Gracie," I whisper, pulling her into my arms as a sob escapes her throat.

"If Op-p-phelia and R-Rohan, h-hadn't c-c-come." Grace is unable to bring herself to finish this sentence but she hugs me so tightly that for a moment I can't breathe.

She trembles in my arms, but keeping her lips pressed tightly together she valiantly manages to pull herself together. After a few shuddering breaths, she sits back, weakly rubbing at her watery red-rimmed eyes.

"I guess I owe Rohan and Ophelia a thank you," I say, feeling both grateful that I'm alive but guilty that I had caused so much trouble and so much pain.

"First I owe you an explanation," Grace informs me, leveling me with a look that leaves no room for protests. "Neither of us leave this alcove until you fully understand exactly why I had to tell Auntie Heather and Uncle Danny that you were promised to James."

I open my mouth to argue, but Grace narrows her bloodshot eyes and I know that an argument will only make things harder for us.

"Fine, but only if you promise me that after this you'll eat loads of chocolate and finally get some sleep," I admonish her.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." Grace rolls her eyes at me, but she smiles. "I'm almost finished," she promises. "But refresh my memory what were we talking about?"

"The explosion at the ministry…" I stop, suddenly remembering something that had been bothering me. "You said the Death Eater wanted something specific…"

"Yes, the Death Eater was after an ancient weapon that his master was interested in, a weapon so powerful that it could probably make the wielder the ruler of the worlds, magical and muggle," Grace explains.

"So, we're doomed," I realize, as the fear sinks in slowly.

"Not necessarily," she disagrees with a ghost of a smile. "One has to be able to wield the weapon, only a few are able to truly unlock the power within and there are rules concerning the issue of how and when this weapon can be used…"

"What is it?" I ask, intrigued.

Grace's face splits into a dark grin.

"We do not speak its name."

I stare at her, dumbfounded. She has to be joking. This is just some twisted story that she's cooked up in a sick wicked effort to make me laugh.

"How do you know all of this?" I ask, eyeing her suspiciously.

"I said there were two witnesses, didn't I?" Grace chuckles, possibly at the look at my face, but most likely at something else, something I don't yet understand.

"The first was an auror, Kenny I think you said…" I recall, wondering why that name sounds so familiar to me. Grace nods before giving me my answer.

"What people don't know is that my mother was also there when it happened."

I catch my breath.

"She didn't go to the papers though, in fact she didn't even go to my father. Instead she went straight to my Auntie Heather and told her everything that had happened. I had come over to play quidditch with the boys when Sirius decided it might be fun to lock me in the kitchen closet."

I raise my eyebrows, wondering if there was more to that story than Gracie let on. Grace blushes furiously, answering my unspoken question.

"Alright so maybe I locked him in the quidditch shed once… or twice… and I stole his hair comb and refused to tell him where I'd hid it, but still he had no right! I mean, it wasn't even his kitchen closet!" She turns so red that I can almost feel the steam coming off of her, but fortunately she takes a deep breath, realizing that she got sidetracked.

"Okay, forget it. So, I'm locked in the kitchen closet and before I even have a chance to ask them to let me out, my mom seals all the doors with a flick of her wand and starts telling Auntie Heather about what happened at the ministry. Of course I had no choice - thanks to Sirius - but to sit there and listen as she told Auntie Heather everything that she witnessed," Grace pauses to catch her breath, and I realize that she's been waiting to share this information with me for a while.

"And get this Lily," she continues, almost excitedly, "My mom says Harry, my uncle Harry, who was murdered twenty years ago and no one will ever talk about, they still have his room sealed off and supposedly it's just the way he left it, not that I'd know but James has been in there recently-"

I blush and study the floor. I had been in that room as well, in fact the only reason why James had been in that room was because I had thought it was the room set up for me. That was when I had met Hope, well, little six-year old Hope. Then James found me…

"It turns out that my Uncle Harry was the last owner of the unnamable weapon," Grace blurts out, just when I finally start paying attention again.

"Mother of Merlin!" I exclaim. "Your Uncle owned that thing? Are you serious? You mean he was the ruler of the worlds?"

Grace bursts out laughing.

"Just because you're the owner of something, it doesn't necessarily mean you use it. Uncle Harry was a collector of magical artifacts," she explains, still chuckling.

Hope had told us that, me and James. It was when I was doing her hair, perfecting her new disguise after James' parents had decided on our new role as Hope's guardians and secret keepers. I accidently broke that old seashell comb and she had attacked us with a knife explaining to us how her brother Harry had collected daggers and other knick knacks, especially those that had belonged to the four founders of Hogwarts.

"That's why he was murdered," Grace whispers, sobering. "Someone wanted it, foolishly thinking that they could wield it."

"Who?" I wonder aloud.

But already I am beginning to form a picture in my mind of someone ambitious, heartless, ruthless and cruel. They would have to be completely inhuman and coldblooded to commit a murder, perhaps several…

"The same person that wanted it last time…" Grace whispers, "You-Know-Who."

The Death Eater leader. Mr. Crowley and hundreds of other innocents, of both muggle and magical backgrounds, as well as Gracie's father, brother and now uncle had been killed by one man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted: power.

Hope had been right. We had no idea what we were up against, until now.

"So, I suppose this means we're all going to die, now that he's got it. I mean it's only a matter of time…" I laugh nervously, scared shitless of what will happen now that he has what he wants. Damn my curiosity, why did Grace have to share her burden with me? Ignorance is bliss, isn't that what people say? Not until this very moment did I finally grasp the meaning of this sage advice and the beauty of ignorance.

"I never said he had it, Lily," Grace says sharply, sitting up straight. "He hasn't got it, and he'll never find it, if I have anything to say about it," she cries passionately, a familiar fire burning in her blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" I ask, holding my breath. I know that look, and I know that sapphire flame. Inside I feel an answering flicker of hope, lighting within me at the sight of the valiant determination in my best friend's eyes.

"Uncle Harry hid it from You-Know-Who and I heard it from my mom's lips that Harry took his secret with him to the grave. They're still looking for it. Why else would they break into the Ministry of Magic and risk everything to ask the Minister himself if he knew anything about its location?" Grace demands rhetorically. But she's right of course. Who would know better than the Minister of Magic and what better place than a highly protected vault in the powerfully warded, secure Ministry of Magic? But obviously Harry hadn't put it there…

"Where is it then?"

"Only three people knew that answer and two of them are now dead," Grace replies in a barely audible voice and I know even before I ask the question who it was that died to keep that secret.

"Who was it Grace?" I breathe.

"Right before Uncle Harry died," she inhales sharply, closing her eyes. "He told my mother where it was."

And even though I knew it was coming, I feel a chill run down my spine as goose bumps spread across my bare arms. I shiver, wondering if the ice that has suddenly encased my entire being will ever melt away.

"She told James mom, didn't she?" I whisper. "That day when you were in the kitchen, right before she died."

Grace meets my eyes for a split second and I see the overwhelming sadness and fear written all over her face. It's the only answer I need.

"I'm so scared Lily," she confesses softly. "Everyday I ask myself, when they're going to come for them. I think waiting for the inevitable to happen, makes it even more painful…"

"You don't that for sure, Grace, they don't know that Heather knows," I console her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

But even as I try and convince her that everything's going to be okay, I'm struck by another tragic thought.

Hope is still alive and I have a feeling I know why she's still alive… But it's only a matter of time before someone discovers that the secret is out…

"I just wish I knew where it was!" Gracie bursts out, frustrated.

"You don't?"

"No! My mom passed it on to her nonverbally. She pulled the memory right out of her head as if she were about to put it into a pensive, but instead she gave it to my aunt…"

So, perhaps Grace was safe after all.

"If only I did though, then I would get it and use it to kill him and all of his Death Eaters, or perhaps I'll just kill myself and get it over with since they're going to kill us all anyway," Grace snarls, an odd gleam coming into her fiery blue eyes as if she's been possessed. I don't like that look one bit and before I can stop myself I'm yelling at her.

"Don't say that Gracie!" I shout, grabbing by the shoulders so that she's forced to look at me. "Don't ever say that!" I shake her hard, bringing her back to me.

Grace blinks, finally seeing me, and then she dissolves into tears. I catch her in my arms, holding her close to my heart.

"I hate them! I hate them so much! It's so bloody unfair, it should have been me! Why won't they just leave us alone!?" she sobs.

"I- I don't know, Grace, I just don't know!" I explode, helplessly.

But I wish I did. I wish I knew why good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people like Gracie's family and Tiffany's father. I wish I knew why evil existed. I wish… but I just don't know anymore.

And suddenly I'm crying too and I can't stop. Because I don't know, and it doesn't matter, because it's not going to stop.

This is only the beginning and right now there seems to be no end in sight.

"You understand why James' parents didn't want you coming for the Holidays, don't you Lily?" she hiccups, still trying to be strong even with bloodshot eyes and tears running down her wet cheeks. "I had to convince them somehow that you were important enough and that you wouldn't endanger us. You're like Sirius, you're family, you're like my sister…"

I smile through my tears but I don't have to say anything. She already knows the feeling is mutual.

"I couldn't leave you alone on Christmas, not when it's practically my fault that you're alone on the first place."

I stop her there.

"Grace, I forgive you for telling James' parents that we were promised and this is not your fault, or mine, or anyone else's…"

There's more that I could say, but I think she already knows. Relief floods her face, as the weight on her shoulders is suddenly lightened.

"It's going to be okay," I reassure her. "I'm sure they're safe."

Grace nods as she pulls herself together. I catch a glimpse of the fire in her eyes, and for a moment I truly believe that they are safe, or at least that their young niece will do everything in her power to insure that they are.

"Come on Lily," she says, drying her eyes for what seems to be the millionth time this afternoon. "I think we could both use some chocolate and we still need to work on that alibi of yours…"

I groan, remembering that I do in fact have to return to the infirmary and face the wrath of Madam Pomfrey.

Grace stands up, and holds out a hand to me. With her help I struggle to my feet.

"You know you look like you just got run over by a train," she tells me.

"And you look like you just fell off your broom and into a pile of dragon dung," I inform her, looking her up and down.

She throws back her head and laughs. I grin, listening to the familiar sound as it fills the alcove. Linking my arm through hers, Gracie waves her wand, unsealing the tapestry. And then, arm in arm, we duck out of the alcove, and slam right into a very white faced –

"Frank!" I gasp, catching a glimpse of the worried expression on Frank Longbottom's face.

"What happened?" Gracie asks, grabbing his wrist before he can escape.

Frank quickly looks from Gracie to me and then he sighs,

"I think you two better come with me."

**A/N**: Sorry if this chapter was kind of boring, I nearly fell asleep writing the beginning and it is a bit repetitive, but at least you got some answers and the plot and I promise the next chapter will be more interesting. Why oh why is it always two or three in the morning when I finish these chapters? I swear there's probably about a million grammatical errors, but if I try to edit it again the sun will be coming up by the time I finish. I WILL be editing this story with the help of my betas, that is if they're still interested. But with school starting I'm not sure if I'll have tons of time or no time at all. I am hoping that I can still at least edit this with help, even with classes and papers and such. AND I am going to try and squeak one more chapter out hopefully before things get too chaotic since I'm really excited about what I have planned for the next chapter but school work comes first! Anyway a huge THANK YOU to my WONDERFUL reviewers. There would be no story without you, I can't say that enough so thank you _Jaliy, the sarahnater, smile123, ari dark princess, Sarahrules336, Lillikins2013, gitgit, cre8tive88, is-a-palindrome, callmeGreen-Eyes, JustCallMeDollface, -EHWIES-, draco-is-so-HOTT, siriusforeva, princes, EvilFaerie17, RaeGurk, An Aspiring Author, Michelle Hill, baseball2horse, Jessiquie, xaddictedx, and Rob-girl_! I love getting reviews especially those that help me improve my writing! THANK YOU SO MUCH! And I will work on getting the editing done and the next chapter done as soon as possible!


	26. Fight!

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**:_ J. K Rowling would never torture her characters like I have._

**A/N**:_ As you all know I'm an American so I have to apologize because I think the wide spread coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions might have rubbed off on me… _

**Chapter 25: Fight!**

"Follow me," Frank tells us, leaving no room for questions or wasted time.

Grace and I exchange a quizzical look, and then wordlessly run after him down the hallway. Grace easily overtakes him with her longer legs by the time we round the second corner, but I find myself struggling with a stitch in my side before we even reach the first flight of stairs.

"Frank," I gasp for breath, when we finally finish with the thousandth and final step of the staircase to hell, "What's going on?"

"You'll see," Frank pants back, barely keeping up with Grace.

With every step, her anxiety seems to increase, as well as her speed. She seems to forget that Frank and I are not only shorter than her, but are not exactly used to this rigorous sort of exercise they call running. Damn it, didn't I say that I was going to join the quidditch team the last time this happened? After this I'm going to get in shape - I swear - but only if my heart doesn't give out in the next two minutes.

"This way!" Frank wheezes, gesturing for us to follow him down a shadowy corridor.

Instinctively the three of us slow down and move closer together. Frank and I take a much needed opportunity to catch our breath as we cautiously enter what we all recognize as dangerous Slytherin territory. Suddenly I realize for the first time that while Grace and Frank have their wands out in front of them, I don't. I still haven't gotten my wand back since the attack. Without my wand I feel naked and frightened. It doesn't help matters that Frank won't tell us what happened.

I can sense that we're getting closer, because Frank's jogging again. I listen closely but I don't hear anything. It's oddly quiet, too quiet. I run faster, rushing blindly around the corner because it's the silence that scares me more than anything.

Someone steps into my path and I crash into him. Stumbling back a step, the first thing I notice is the ugly green and silver scarf haphazardly wrapped around his thick beefy neck. Second I notice that there are several Slytherins along the wall beside him and more are joining him, silently gliding into place to fill in their ranks. The last thing I notice is that I unfortunately just bumped into Mulciber, who's probably one of the biggest and meanest Slytherins in the school. Of course he has a wand, but it's not like it would matter. He could crush me with his bare hands if he wanted to.

Swallowing hard, I practically trip over my own two feet in my haste to get out of the way. Luckily someone catches my elbow, winding his arm around my waist. I fall into his arms and don't protest when we duck safely behind the wall into the corridor that I stupidly came out of a bit too quickly.

"Thanks," I say gratefully, looking up into the handsome face of my savior.

"James! What's happening?" I ask softly, peeking over his shoulder at the mob of Slytherins. Now I can see Grace and Frank moving to the opposite side of the corridor to join the smaller crowd of anxious Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that have gathered. Frank slips in beside Alice, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Grace moves to stand between Remus and Sirius, who leans in to whisper something in her ear.

James ignores my question, looking down and studying my clothes – or rather my lack of clothes. I blush under his scrutinizing gaze, wondering why I was stupid enough to walk out in just a hospital gown.

"So, did you just decide it was time for a new fashion trend or did you just completely forget to put on clothes today?" he inquires sarcastically.

"I'm wearing clothes!" I protest indignantly.

"Yes, I suppose you are wearing the Emperor's New Clothes and might I add that it looks very becoming on you which is why I am not going to let you go anywhere looking like_ that_." He places two firm hands on my shoulders and turns me around.

"Who do you think you are, my father?" I hiss, fighting him off.

"If I have to be," James answers smugly, pushing me back in the direction that I just came from.

"Stop pushing me!"

"Then stop fighting me!"

"What's going on here?" a voice interrupts us and James I stop wrestling for the moment, turning to see the tall Ravenclaw prefect that had joined us.

Sad dark eyes look down at me and it takes me a moment to remember the name that belongs to those gentle eyes.

"Rohan," I cry, finally recalling the name of Ophelia's friend who had saved my life now on two occasions. "He's harassing me," I add, getting back at James for treating me like a child.

"She's breaking the school dress code," James counters immaturely.

Rohan looks like he desperately wants to roll his eyes at our childish actions but he restrains himself.

"James, let go of her. And Lily, I think Madam Pomfrey wants you to return her hospital gown to the infirmary," he says giving me a meaningful look.

Oh crap, she's looking for me. I am so dead.

"Take her back to the infirmary then," James orders, shoving me toward Rohan. "And make sure she puts on some clothes."

"You know what? Maybe I'll just parade around stark naked!" I snarl back at him.

"You wouldn't dare," James challenges, lowering his voice and stepping so close to me that I can feel his breath on my face.

I glare up at him, wishing I could just knock that stupid smug look off his face. All I can think of is how angry I am. And before I'm even fully aware of what I'm doing, I'm unbuttoning my gown. James's eyes widen, transfixed as my fingers start to move to the next button. Fury and desire are in his mesmerized eyes and I can feel the same emotional turmoil rush through me with a wave of blistering heat. Before I can do any real damage though, James has his hands on me. For a split second I think that he might rip open the rest of the buttons himself, but then he blinks and the haze of desire is gone. I must have imagined it because he morphs into my father once again as he pulls off his robe in one fluid movement and wraps it securely around me. He bends down and tries to scoop me up in his arms.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demand, eluding his grasp.

"Taking you back to where you belong," he explains calmly, holding out his arms as if waiting for me to docilely climb into them.

"No way!"

"If you're going to act like a child than I'm going to treat you like one."

James Potter is accusing_ me_ of acting childish? I almost laugh out loud, but I'm so angry with him that I could scream. I step out of his reach, holding my ground and the last threads of my fragile dignity.

"Don't touch me," I whisper between clenched teeth, tightening his robe around me. I don't know why I'm so mad. Why do I let him get under my skin?

The expression on his face flickers as if I really had punched him in the face like I wanted to. But his frown hardens as he gets to his feet and turns his eyes away from me.

"Walk her back to the infirmary, she's obviously still recovering from her head injury," James tells Rohan coolly. I gape at him, appalled but unable to think of anything to say in return.

With those final words, James turns and swiftly disappears into the swelling crowd. I stare after him, trying to understand what's going on in the swollen head of his.

"Lily?" Rohan touches my shoulder, finally calling me back to the present.

"Sorry, Rohan, what were you saying?" I ask, turning my back on the spot where Potter disappeared and giving him my full attention.

"I vowed to escort you back to the infirmary, so, shall we?" He chivalrously offers me his arm, surprising me with his kind smile and excellent manners.

"Rohan," I sigh, reluctantly taking his arm but refusing to budge.

"Before you say anything Lily, I think you should know that Madam Pomfrey has a warrant out for your arrest," he informs me and I'm not sure if he's joking or not.

"I know, but I really wanted to know what happened," I tell him, looking over my shoulder in the direction that James left.

"The Minister of Magic died a few hours ago," Rohan explains, hastily adding, "We should really go Lily, Madam Pomfrey has a search party looking for you."

I stay put dwelling on what he just said, or rather what he didn't say.

"He was your grandfather, wasn't he?" Rohan nods. "I'm sorry Rohan," I whisper consolingly.

Rohan looks up at me and to my surprise he smiles.

"Don't be, he's not suffering anymore."

The two of us stand there in silence for a moment and I contemplate his words letting them sink in.

"I guess I have to go back now," I grumble, feeling as if I'm about to be led to the guillotine.

"Unless you want to wait for the election results like everyone else," Rohan suggests.

"Could we?" I ask.

Rohan hesitates, looking down at me and biting his lip.

"I solemnly swear I'll go quietly to Madam Pomfrey as soon as everything's over," I promise, smiling angelically up at him. (You know the one that James swears makes me look like Sirius) Rohan caves, just like I knew he would.

"Well, I guess, we could stay," Rohan decides. "But don't tell Madam Pomfrey."

"Thanks Rohan!" I squeeze his arm gratefully and let go. Together we sneak back toward the crowd, carefully staying on the outskirts.

Looking around I notice that every set of eyes is fixed on a shimmering orb of light, hanging suspended above us in the darkened hallway.

"What's that?" I wonder aloud, staring up at the peculiar apparition with wide eyes.

"It's a Bewitching Spyglass," a voice dreamily explains. Ophelia silently appears at my shoulder. "With the right spellwork and the exact coordinates the owner of the spyglass can use any mirror in the world as a sort of window. The view from that particular mirror is then reflected into the spyglass for the owner's own viewing pleasure."

"Which is why they're illegal," another voice chimes in as the Head Boy, Eddie Bones, and another close friend of Ophelia comes up behind us.

"I can't imagine why, I find them quite beautiful," Ophelia disagrees, smiling serenely.

Eddie and Rohan exchange a look, barely suppressing knowing smirks, as if they could in fact think of several reasons why bewitching spyglasses were in fact banned.

"If I had one of those," Eddie says wistfully, "The first thing I would do is set it up in the girl's dormitory and then – OW – Ophelia, I was just kidding!" he cries, rubbing a spot on his forearm where an angry and suspicious looking lump is forming, courtesy of a lazy flick of Ophelia's wand. I roll my eyes. Guys can be such gits.

"I'll tell Mary," Ophelia threatens, referring to the Head Girl.

"And I'll tell her that you and Rohan didn't help me confiscate an extremely rare illegal magical artifact that one of the Slytherin students had in their possession," Eddie replies.

Ophelia just shakes her head as a deep voice suddenly fills the room.

"Good afternoon," the faceless voice booms. The orb above us pulses, twisting and sparkling as an image struggles to come into focus. Finally a shimmering picture of a stately wizard standing at a podium appears blurrily. Behind him are an endless sea of witches and wizards and there are more sitting down below in front of him and around him as the picture sharpens and finally becomes perfectly clear with some fine tuning on the bewitching spyglass owner's part.

"Today is a memorable day for the magical world, one that will go down in history for the ages. But it is one marked by tragedy. Early this morning at exactly ten twenty nine in St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies, we lost a brave leader of the magical world. Today we said goodbye to a brilliant wizard, our Minister of Magic Rohan M. Corner." The speaker pauses, letting us all have a moment of silence.

I hadn't realized that Rohan had been named for his famous grandfather. Beside me he ducks his head as several students in front of us look over their shoulder, seeking him out. Eddie claps him on the shoulder, keeping his hand there as he glares at the other students until ashamed they turn away. Ophelia squeezes in between us, taking his hand and whispering something comforting in his ear. Rohan lifts his head and they share a small smile, before redirecting their attention to the speaker whose voice once again echoes through the dungeons.

"We will never forget Minister Corner," the speaker says solemnly as if he means it, and a few witches close behind him wipe tears from their eyes.

"The magical world will never be the same without him. It is the ending of an era, but also the opportunity for us to rise from the ashes. Minister Corner would have felt that it was time for a new beginning. And today we keep him in mind as we choose a new leader to guide us into a brighter tomorrow." The speaker pauses, smiling. The audience around him beams and begins to applaud. But within the corridor, the tension only increases as the students fidget restlessly, whispering to one another and stealing glances at Rohan.

"He's lying," Rohan growls under his breath. "They don't give a damn what my grandfather thought or else they would have appointed his replacement Strangeways on the spot."

Eddie and Ophelia exchange a mutual look that I don't understand as they tighten their hold on the agitated Rohan. They look as if they just came to an unhappy conclusion and it frightens them. I think they just realized who won the election…

"Our Assistant Minister, Anthony Strangeways has done his best in Minister Corner's absence, but today it's time to officially appoint Corner's successor," the speaker pauses dramatically, staring straight out at the audience for several agonizing seconds before turning away.

"Mrs. Crowley," he calls suddenly smiling fondly at someone off the camera that we can't see, "If you would be so kind to do the honor."

Someone gasps loudly and I catch a glimpse of Tiffany Crowley covering her mouth, watching the screen in horror as her despicable mother steps into the spyglass, joining the speaker at the podium with a dazzling smile and a flip of her beautiful flowing blonde hair. Her towering bodyguard hovers close by in the crowd of witches and wizards behind her, and he is of course wearing his sunglasses.

"Thank you, thank you," Mrs. Crowley says smiling, and raising a hand to quiet the thunderous applause. "Before I announce Minister Corner's successor I would just like us all to pause for a moment to remember not only the Minister, but the victims of the attack at the Annual Ministry Yule Ball this past month. As you all know, my husband was among those that were killed," she reminds the audience, choking up almost convincingly. "My daughter and I loved him very much," she sniffs, looking down at the podium as she pretends to wipe away non existent tears.

I turn my head, looking for Tiffany. She appears to be in shock but slowly the fury is beginning to set in.

"And that is why I have chosen to throw my support behind a candidate that can protect us from the same fate that my beloved husband," her mother continues.

As Tiffany watches her mother fake her grief, all of her pent up anger and sorrow causes her to explode.

"LIAR!" she screams, startling everyone around her, including her Slytherin slimeball boyfriend Zambini who had been standing stiffly beside her, looking as if he didn't want to be anywhere near her. I start toward her, but the crowd moves back in their haste to get out of the way of the wrath of Tiffany Crowley. A Huffelpuff accidentally pushes me into Ophelia who stops me from going to her with a hand on my shoulder. "YOU HATED HIM! YOU LEFT HIM!" Tiffany's voice echoes through the room, drowning out her mother's "heartfelt" words.

The Slytherins glare at Tiffany as the spyglass owner starts fiddling with the image struggling to increase the volume. The picture goes in and out of focus, distorting Mrs. Crowley so that she suddenly seems ugly and deformed. Several students protest loudly, turning on Tiffany.

"Shut up!"

"Stop touching it!"

"LIAR! YOU DIDN'T LOVE HIM! YOU HATED US!" Tiffany shouts, taking out her wand and pointing it at her mother.

"Lily, wait!"

I ignore Ophelia and Rohan, pushing through the crowd and shoving people out of my way until I finally reach my friend. Zambini is as far away as possible, staring at his girlfriend with a mixture of disgust and disappointment, but Sirius and James are on either side of her, restraining her with strong arms. Grace disarms her and Remus reaches up, catching Tiffany's wand in his hand. But Tiffany keeps yelling at her mother until a disgruntled Slytherin casts a well aimed silencing charm on her, effectively putting an end to her screams.

"_Silencio_!" Remus retaliates, throwing a silencing charm right back at the student, but someone deflects his spell and it hits the spyglass instead. Tiffany's mother is instantly silenced.

"HEY!"

"She's about to announce the Minister!"

"Who did that?!"

Still, Tiffany fights Sirius and James tooth and nail, silently crying and screaming wildly at the hated woman in the orb and all we can do is painfully watch and wait for her to finally cry herself out.

"Tiffany, stop!" Alice pleads, kneeling down in front of her. She nearly gets kicked in the face for her efforts and Frank quickly pulls her safely out of the way and into his arms. Tiffany's wild eyes can't see any of us. She only sees the woman who gave birth to her but couldn't love her and gave her up instead.

"Tiffany!"

"Tiffany, please!"

We call her name but she doesn't hear us. Not until James turns her around so that her back is to the orb reflecting her mother. Taking her fully in his arms, James grabs her face in his hand, holding it for a moment so that she's forced to look in his eyes.

"Tiffany," he whispers. "We're here."

And just like that, she stops.

"Congratulations to Minister McLaggen, our new Minister of Magic!" a voice booms as the Slytherins finally reverse the silencing charm that Remus inadvertently put on it.

Debbie McLaggen squeals as Zambini and Mulciber lift her onto their shoulders. The Slytherins are applauding and cheering. A few of the other students join them, clapping politely but I notice that with the exception of Debbie and a select few, most of the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors look far from happy. But it doesn't seem to matter. The only thing I see is Tiffany who is still in James Potter's arms, staring up at him with the oddest expression on her face.

"Are you okay, now?" James asks, concerned.

Tiffany doesn't say anything, just continues to look at James in a way that makes me very uncomfortable. I don't like it and I don't know why.

"Tiffany talk to me!" he says anxiously.

"She can't you git, she's been silenced," Remus chuckles, flicking his wand and murmuring the countercurse that will unlock her sealed lips.

Tiffany immediately snaps out of it once she sees Remus causing all of us, including James and myself to exhale a sigh of relief. I don't know what came over me because suddenly Tiffany's completely back to normal and everything is fine.

"Thank you." She smiles at Remus, touching her throat which must be sore after all that yelling.

"I think this might be yours too, I hope you forgive me but the last thing I wanted was for you to hurt yourself…" Remus offers her the wand with a hopeful smile.

"You're forgiven Lupin, but only if you let me give you a haircut," Tiffany says in a voice still hoarse from screaming, touching his shaggy brown hair which is in fact in need of a trim.

"You know I won't let anyone else do it," Remus assures her, winking.

"Are you sure Remus? I could dye your hair pink for you," I offer, jokingly, catching James's eye.

Only James really gets it, recalling the time that we disguised Hope and made her into something resembling the pink panther, but everyone else laughs anyway knowing that my hairdressing skills will never measure up to Tiffany's.

Tiffany's laugh is cut short as she catches sight of something over my shoulder. The smile falls from her face and she looks as if she might suddenly break into tears or go crazy again.

"What is it?" I ask, turning around to see what she's looking at.

But I already know the answer. There in full view of everyone Zambini and Debbie McLaggen are snogging. And they're not just kissing. They are sucking each other's faces off and are just a few mere seconds away from ripping their clothes off.

"That. Is. _Disgusting_." I say slowly, wanting to vomit at the sight of their very public display.

"We have forty seven perfectly good broom closets for that kind of stuff," Sirius laments, wrinkling his nose.

"You would know," Gracie mutters just loud enough for him to hear. "You've probably been in every one of them with a different girl."

"Not yet," Sirius counters, smirking at her. "I haven't been in number forty seven. I was saving that one for you. If you want we could check it out now," he offers.

Grace punches him so hard that I swear I hear a bone crack. Sirius starts howling in pain, cradling his injured arm as if he's on his last breath.

"Maybe later," she answers, grinning and blushing, though no one notices but me. Grace and I are going to have a very long chat about Mr. Black. That is if I survive the wrath of Madam Pomfrey… and James Potter.

"Lily, where's Rohan?" James asks calmly, folding his arms over his chest and glaring down at me.

I shrug, pretending as if I don't know what he's talking about.

"Or maybe I should be asking you what you're still doing here when you should be in the hospital wing," he reminds me, raising his eyebrows.

I turn around and start to walk away from him, not in the mood to fight with him. But James grabs my shoulders, guiding me in the direction of the infirmary and we're right back where we left off.

"The infirmary is this way."

I whirl on him, fully intending to give him a piece of my mind when Alice interrupts us with a scream.

"Tiffany, NO!"

"That slippery slimeball!" Tiffany snarls using Alice's favorite nickname for Tiffany's now ex-boyfriend. "Let me at him!"

Remus casts a shield that stops her abruptly in her tracks.

"They're not worth it Tiffany," Alice says gently. "You were too good for him and you're worth twelve of her."

Tiffany looks unconvinced.

"Take it away Remus! All I want to do is kill him!"

"Don't be stupid Tiffany," Remus admonishes her lightly. "You don't want to go to Azkaban."

"I don't care!" she argues, punching and kicking the flickering shield blocking her path.

"Tiffany," James sighs, sidling up to her and lowering his voice conspiringly, "There will be plenty of time to kill them _both_, but let's wait until there aren't any prefects and professors around."

Hearing these words of wisdom, Tiffany stops fighting Remus' shield which flickers weakly and finally fades away.

"You'll help right?" she asks James, though she continues to glare daggers at the oblivious couple.

"Of course," James promises, grinning mischievously at his fellow Marauder.

"Count us in," Alice says and Frank nods and wracks his knuckles beside her.

"Me too," I chime in eagerly.

"Lupin, you're helping too," Tiffany tells Remus as they walk away together.

"Nothing in the world would give me greater pleasure," Remus whispers, twirling his wand and winking at James.

We probably would have started plotting the couple's murders right then and there; Tiffany, me, James, Remus, Alice and Frank. (Sirius and Grace were mysteriously missing. I think they might have been serious about that forty seventh broom cupboard) But just as we were walking away, the banshee and slimeball Zambini came up for air.

"Hey Crowley," Zambini calls after us. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to break it off with you."

Tiffany growls and looks as if she's changed her mind about waiting to kill the jerk, but Remus winks at her, tapping his prefect badge with his wand so that the P is suddenly joined by and R and I so that it reads RIP and she giggles.

"Tiffany!" Debbie McLaggen's annoyingly high pitched voice follows us down the hall, refusing to leave us alone. Tiffany closes her eyes, her hands balling into fists but she keeps walking.

"How does it feel to be unloved?" Debbie asks with that deceivingly innocent giggle.

Tiffany is halfway back before any of us can stop us. Her wand comes down and a purple jet of light arches through the air and hits Zambini square in the face. Blood comes pouring out of his nose and boils burst out across his face. No one ever said that Tiffany's charmwork was perfect, but it was always effective. Zambini swears under his breath, but Debbie's reaction is much more amusing.

Debbie screams as blood drops onto her shirt. Her hands flap around uselessly as she refuses to touch it and stamps her feet like a child in a tantrum.

"Ewwww! Get it off!" she whimpers. "HELP ME!" she yells at Tiffany.

It would have been extremely funny but a moment later we're surrounded by Slytherins. They must have stayed to play around with the spyglass and none of us are going to reach Tiffany in time. Sure enough, one immediately raises his wand and hexes Tiffany. Crying out, she falls to the ground, clutching her shoulder where the curse hit. James and Remus raise their wands on either side of me, firing back at them but we're too far away. Alice and Frank cast two stunning spells that take out two Slytherins side by side, just as I rush to Tiffany's side.

"Tiff, are you going to be alright?" I ask, seeing the obvious pain in her eyes.

"Fine," she says between clenched teeth as over our heads a long over due battle breaks out between two opposing houses. But I can tell that Tiffany is safe here as the fight moves off to higher ground.

"Okay, just stay put for a second," I tell her, picking up the wand that she dropped and casting a temporary shielding charm on her.

"Lily!" she protests automatically.

"I promise I'll be right back!" I assure her, jumping to my feet.

With a wand in my hand I feel safer and more powerful than I have in weeks. But even as I stun a Slytherin fighting with James nearby, I'm missing that tingle in my arm that only comes when I have my own wand. I'm also lacking accuracy and effectiveness because my second hex goes way off course, hitting a portrait instead.

"Stupid thing won't work," I complain, aiming at Debbie McLaggen again. But Grace comes out of nowhere, getting there first. So I guess they didn't go to the broom cupboard after all… Unless, they went in for a really, really, quick snog.

My wand or rather, Tiffany's wand suddenly soars out of my hand. Rohan and Ophelia rush past me blindly disarming as many people as they can and casting shields wherever possible, trying to break up the fight and bring about order despite the fact that more students from all houses are joining the fray. At the opposite end of the corridor I see Eddie and Mary fruitlessly trying to do the same. That explains why I'm suddenly wandless, again.

"Lily, duck!"

A hand grabs me, pulling me down to the ground just as something hits me hard in the back. Someone curses, rolling me over onto my side as my body goes numb. The last thing I see is James's wide hazel eyes hovering over me.

"Shit!" he swears, as the world goes black. "Lily, _I'm_ going to kill you if you survive this!"

**A/N:** I know, I know, how many times is Lily going to pass out? That is why James makes that funny comment at the end. But before you write me off, remember Harry Potter her son and the numerous times this happened to him. Anyway I plan to get the next chapter out as soon as I can and to start the editing process ASAP as well. I know I said I would edit it months ago with the help of a beta but I keep writing new stuff! I might actually finish it soon! A huge THANK YOU to my wonderful reviewers. I honestly love you. Please read and review, constructive criticism and long reviews or even short reviews make my day.


	27. You're Scaring the Patients

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**:_ J. K Rowling would never torture her characters like I have._

**A/N**:_ It's been a while. School and work basically took over my life, enough said. I will do my best to update during my two weeks off! As requested I am adding a summary, if you need a longer one or have any questions I'll do my best to answer them. _

**COMPLETE SUMMARY: FEEL FREE TO SKIP OVER (ITS DIVIDED INTO PARTS 1-10, 10-20, AND 20-26 TO MAKE IT EASIER)**

**Summary of 1-10****: Lily flashes back to the start of her sixth year. On September 1****st****, Lily's best friend Grace Adams and Grace's cousin James Potter show up at her house to unexpectedly take Lily back with them to Grace's house. Grace receives a letter informing her that her house was attacked and her family murdered. The Wizarding World goes into lockdown trapping Lily, James and Grace at her home. Then the floo opens back up but Lily is left behind and attacked by Death Eaters who come looking for presumably Gracie. James comes back to rescue her and takes her to his home. Lily and James encounter a mysterious child who turns out to be Gracie's mother who's body was never located and survived the attack but at the price of her memory and a curse that left her a child. They return to school and the child that Grace tries to smuggle in is left with James's parents, who realize it's Hope and try to help restore her memory and body. **

**Summary of 10-20****: Lily is not allowed to return home for fear of endangering her family since her house was attacked. She goes to spend Christmas at the Potters house. The crazy Ravenclaw Ophelia reveals that she thinks Hope's coffin is empty (which it was) and that she is still alive (which she is). Grace believes her, and drags Lily, James, and Sirius into the family mausoleum to check and see if it's true. Lily finds a body in it but not Hope's. Lily and Sirius disturb the tomb with their presence and awaken a statue that tries to kill them and leaves them trapped until Hope, now in teenage form and still living at the Potter house with only half her memories, lets them out after receiving an owl from Tiffany who was contacted through the mirror Remus should have been carrying. There was an attack at the annual yule tide ball that left Tiffany's father dead and revealed the Death Eaters to the Wizarding World. Lily and James once again encounter Hope, this time as a teenager and one that reveals her true identity. The Potters realize Lily and James have stumbled upon their secret and decide to send Hope to Hogwarts where she will be safer and be more apt to retrieve the necessary memories, under the protection of Dumbledore and Lily and James. Lily and James share their first kiss under some mistletoe, the boys forgot about. James's mother discovers them in another interesting position and jumps to the conclusion that they are sleeping together. James doesn't argue with his mother and reveals to Lily that he and Grace had to tell her that she was promised to James in order to allow her to stay with them for the Holidays. Lily is furious and gets upset with Gracie when she finally corners her in a compartment. The compartment is attacked and Lily is nearly killed. **

**Summary of 20-25****: Ophelia and her friend Rohan save Lily's life and she wakes up in the hospital wing nearly two weeks later with Hope watching over her under James's strict instructions. James and Lily have another encounter in which Lily refuses to go out with him for what seems like the last time. Lily sneaks out of the hospital wing and hears Alice trying to convince Grace to help her hook up Tiffany with James. Grace discovers Lily eavesdropping and explains everything to her, how the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in the world and how they targeted her parents because of their outspokenness and the fact that her mother was in possession of a deadly secret concerning the location of a powerful weapon the Death Eaters want, and that this secret was passed onto James's mother. Frank alerts them that the Minister of Magic is being chosen and Slytherins and Gryffindors alike watch as Tiffany's despicable mother announces that their hated room mate, Debbie McLaggen's father was chosen for Minister, a choice that the Slytherins are thrilled with. A fight ensues between Gryffindors and Slytherins when Tiffany attacks Debbie when Zambini dumps her for Debbie. Lily takes the injured Tiffany's wand but is disarmed in the attack by Rohan and Ophelia trying to break up the fight. She's stunned and loses consciousness. **

**END OF SUMMARY – START OF CHAPTER 26**

* * *

**Chapter 26: You're Scaring the Patients**

I wake to the sound of two people holding a hushed argument nearby.

"I told you to keep an eye on her, Hope!"

I don't have to open my eyes. I know that voice belongs to James Potter.

"I tried James! I really tried, but Madam Pomfrey practically chained me to the bed, and put me under surveillance when she discovered that Lily was missing!"

If that's Hope than I take it I'm back in the Infirmary. Yes, there was a fight after the Minister of Magic was announced, I think? Debbie said something mean when Zambini dumped Tiffany for her after her father won, and Tiffany lost it. And then the Slytherins jumped in to defend Zambini, and well it doesn't take a Ravenclaw to figure out what happens when a Gryffindor is attacked…

"She shouldn't have escaped in the first place!"

I lost my wand, actually it was Tiffany's wand, and I was stunned or something… It doesn't matter what happened, the result is that I'm back in the infirmary. I can't wait to see Madam Pomfrey again. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to have me back. Truly, I'm looking forward to that reunion, or better yet the one between me and James.

"I did my best James. I stayed in this stinking infirmary for over a fortnight, watching her sleep, inventing new diseases and symptoms, and putting up with that witch who invents new forms of torturing me with each coming day-"

"Who?"

"Madam Pomfrey, of course!"

"Hope…" James groans, "For the last time, she's not going to kill you."

"She scares the hell out of me James! If she feeds me the Cure-All one more time I might die. Honestly, have you ever tasted that stuff? Dragon dung tastes like cotton candy and butterflies compared to this-"

"Wait, you've tasted dragon dung?"

"Mark dared me to do it for twenty galleons."

"Aw, Hope, I did not need to know that," James grimaces.

I open my eyes just wide enough to catch a glimpse of James, wincing as he removes his glasses and places them on the bedside table. I watch as he leans back in his chair, running his hands through his unruly hair. He yawns and pinches the bridge of his nose. I don't remember when it started or why, but I suddenly find every move he makes so incredibly fascinating. With his glasses off and his head back, he's completely oblivious to my open eyes, but Hope is not. She notices that I am awake, and that I am openly staring at James. Of course, she completely ignores the finger that I raise to my lips, imploring her to be quiet.

"I think she's awake!" she announces in a loud stage whisper.

"She's sleeping," James disagrees softly, as I close my eyes again and keep my breathing regular. I hear him sit up in his chair, leaning forward so that his knees graze the edge of my bed where my arm rests. He adjusts a blanket by my chin, his hand lingering there several moments longer than necessary. "Madam Pomfrey gave her a dreamless sleep potion that should last eight hours."

"It's almost morning James," Hope giggles, "which means that it's well past the allotted eight hours Madam Pomfrey gave your sleeping beauty."

"Has it really been that long?" James sounds surprised.

"Yes, James, which is why Lily here, is wide awake and has been listening in on our conversation for the last ten minutes."

Hope pinches my arm. I twitch, yanking my arm out of her grasp, and giving up the façade entirely.

"That hurt!" I exclaim, sitting up and fixing her with a glare. Hope giggles, and James is astonished to discover that I am in fact more awake than I should be, and probably did overhear most of their conversation.

"How long have you been listening?" James asks. Even in the dimly lit infirmary I can tell he's blushing. It makes me wonder what I might have missed out on in the few minutes before I woke up.

"Not long, maybe ten minutes or so…" I admit, grudgingly acknowledging the truth in Hope's statement.

"Long enough to hear James confess his undying love for Tiffany," Hope whispers conspiringly, winking in his direction meaningfully.

"What?" I ask, rubbing my eyes vigorously, for I could've sworn I just heard her say –

"I don't love Tiffany," James laughs, with a roll of his eyes.

"Could have fooled me," Hope grumbles to me, shaking her head. "The girl wakes up crying hysterically, and James sits with her for a moment, gives her a kiss, and immediately she shuts up and goes back to sleep with a smile on her face. It was so disgustingly sweet that I nearly gagged."

The rest of Hope's words wash over me. It's as if my head suddenly filled with water. An odd sensation bubbles up within me. It knocks the breath right out of me, and causes my hands to grip the bed sheets so hard that I can almost feel them tearing.

"She was upset so I sat and talked with her for a few minutes until she fell back asleep. I was merely trying to comfort her," James snaps at Hope.

I could see the scene unraveling before my eyes. Tiffany sobbing, and James taking her delicate, birdlike figure, into his strong arms. She would cry into his chest, and James would stroke her perfectly shaped blonde curls. He would whisper words of comfort into her ears and press his cheek against hers, just like he had done to me on the kitchen floor when I received his letter. He would move his hands in smooth circles along her back, letting them move lower and lower, just like that time when we sat by the fire, and his lips would descend on first her forehead and then… and then…

"So you kissed her?" I realize that it's my own voice, breathy, faint and incredulous, that's posing this question.

"I did _not_ kiss her!" James growls, his eyes flashing as he rounds on me. "And even if I did, why would it matter to you?"

I can't answer. All of this is so strange and foreign. Why does it matter to me if James kisses Tiffany? It's not like I care who James kisses. He can kiss whoever he wants. Right? It shouldn't matter, but it does for some reason…

"Do you like her?" I blurt out, avoiding the question entirely.

"Why do you care?" he asks, frowning.

"I-I d-don't," I stammer, stumbling over my words, "But do you?"

"Of course I like her. She's one of our good friends," he responds, and I can tell by the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and the slight smirk at the corner of his mouth that he's thoroughly enjoying my obvious discomfort, and is taking full advantage of this rare moment.

"That's not what I meant," I pause, shutting my eyes for a moment to regain composure. I'm being ridiculously silly and I refuse to let James Potter reduce me to this state of weakness. It doesn't matter who James Potter kisses. It doesn't, not really…"What I meant is that Tiffany is one of my closest friends, and I won't have you messing around with her unless you're serious about her," I say finally.

James Potter's face changes entirely. The twinkle is gone from his eyes and the smirk is replaced with a mirthless grin. He laughs bitterly and I know that I won again, but I don't feel very victorious.

"I see that you still haven't changed your mind about me." He leans back in his chair, laughing vacantly at the ceiling above us. At some point, Hope had made herself scarce, pulling the curtain shut, and leaving me enclosed in my hospital bed chamber with only James Potter. A shiver runs down my spine as his empty laughter dies away and he lowers his eyes to me. We're alone together.

"Are you ever going to give me a chance Lily?" he asks softly, studying me with those beautiful hazel eyes.

I open my mouth but nothing comes out.

"Wait, don't answer that question." He holds up a hand to silence me. "I think it's better if we lay that to rest, don't you agree? At least for now…" he trails off ominously and I wonder what he means by this statement.

"And just to set the record straight, I think that Tiffany Crowley is a very pretty girl, with a wonderful sense of humor. She happens to find me attractive and funny too, and perfect just the way I am, unlike others with impossibly high expectations." He nods at me, and I feel my cheeks flush as anger bubbles to the surface.

"Don't you dare use her!" I explode. "Her father's just died and Zambini-"

"You're completely missing the point!" James interrupts me chillingly. "I know it's very hard for you to believe Lily, but I am not as heartless of a prick as you make me out to be."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I wonder how I ever got that impression. Hmm, perhaps it was the past six years of close observance of his piggish behavior.

"In fact, believe it or not I came here to make sure that you _and_ Tiffany were all right. Tiffany was very grateful and appreciative of my company."

"I'm sure she was if you were snogging her," I grumble, just loud enough for James to hear.

He stops, shakes his head, and gets to his feet.

"I see that I'm only wasting my time here." He looks down at me in disappointment.

"Then leave," I tell him, angrily.

"Some things never change I guess," he sighs, reaching for his glasses on the bedside table and putting them back on.

"Some people never change," I add, giving him a meaningful look.

His mouth tightens and his eyes flash, but he pretends he did not hear me. As he turns to go, he calls over his shoulder.

"Feel better Lily, and tell Tiffany when she wakes up that I'll be by later to visit her."

"Oh, don't worry. I will be sure to warn her," I promise him coolly, folding my arms hostilely over my chest, before turning my back on him.

He pulls the curtain shut behind him so hard that it's still swinging and swaying violently, long after his footsteps disappear. And then suddenly I hear them, pounding back again in my direction. He rips back the curtain and storms in.

"Back so soon? Aw, James, I'm touched that you couldn't stay away, but you didn't give me nearly enough time to warn your precious Tiffany that you would be gracing us with your almighty presence-"

"I didn't come back to see you," James practically spits at me, interrupting my performance.

"Then what did you come back for?" I ask, throwing off the sheets and getting out of bed.

I comb my hair with my fingers and stretch out my arms, pretending to be disinterested, though I'm dying to know. I turn around, just in time to catch James openly staring at me with eyes darkened with desire. I freeze. He closes the distance between us, grasping my arms like a predator finally trapping its prey.

"James?" I squeak, clearing my throat which is suddenly dry.

He blinks, snapping out of it. I must have imagined the whole thing because the next thing he says is:

"I want my cloak back."

"You want your – Oh!" I gasp, as he tugs on my sleeve, drawing my attention to the fact that I am still wearing his cloak. When I escaped from the infirmary wearing nothing but my hospital gown, James decided it might be best if I cover myself up. He did the honors for me by dressing me in his cloak and then threatening to carry me off to the infirmary in front of Rohan. He's such an infuriating git.

I take it off and throw it at him.

"Happy? Now you can go."

"You're welcome," James thanks me as he puts it back on.

"I never wanted it," I insist, stubbornly.

The chill of the infirmary, or perhaps it's the coldness in James's eyes, hits me all at once and I shiver. Crossing my arms over my chest, I wait for him to leave. But he doesn't. I feel his hand on my shoulder, and I unwillingly look up at him once more.

"Come on," he says, guiding me back to the bed. "You're cold."

"I'm so sick of being in bed," I sigh, looking longingly toward the window. Outside the sun is finally rising, and several weak rays of sunlight struggle to warm a patch of floor by the windowsill.

James hesitates, and then changes his mind. Taking me by the hand, he leads me to the window.

"Sit down," he tells me, dragging a chair over. I willingly do so, greedily drinking in the view as the sunlight grows brighter and stronger with each passing moment. It's still too cold though for me to remain. Something warm and soft drops into my lap, and a moment later I feel another blanket wrap itself around my shoulders.

"Thank you," I whisper, looking up at him.

James nods curtly, shoving his hands deep into his pocket. I hear him clear his throat, and then scold me gruffly.

"Just stay here. Don't leave the infirmary. If I catch you sneaking out again I'll have your head if Madam Pomfrey and Hope don't beat me to it. You need your rest, so don't move until you're better, understood?"

"I'm fine James," I assure him, rolling my eyes. Honestly, now he's beginning to sound like Frank around Alice, only a much more threatening and violent version. It's almost like he actually cares about me. The thought gives me a pleasant shiver, but I immediately suppress it, seeing how it also made him sound like my over protective father, only worse.

"Stay here," he repeats.

"Yes, father," I chuckle.

"Please, don't leave." His hands are warm and gentle on my shoulders. I don't dare look at him because I know I'll never be able to look away.

"I won't," I promise softly. James squeezes my shoulders and lets go.

The two of us lapse into a contented silence, watching as the sun ascends into the sky. As the room brightens and the colors come alive, I find myself drifting off. I struggle to stay awake, but my eyelids grow heavier as I fall deeper into a warm and cozy stupor. James moves to the windowsill and I stare at him through half-closed lids. His hair is black, but in the sunlight I can see strands of brown. I sorely regret the fact that he put his glasses back on, because with the glare of the sun I can't see his eyes. But I already know the exact shape and color of his eyes though as if they've been imprinted on my mind. He really is beautiful. It's such a shame, such a damn shame…

A shadow crosses my path, and with a blink I realize that James moved from his post at the window to my side, and that I must have finally dozed off. He gently slides one of his arms beneath my knees, and the other encircles my back. I feel myself leaving the ground, floating lightly in an aura of warmth and the intoxicating scent that I've come to love and associate with James Potter.

"James," I murmur sleepily.

He hushes me, gingerly laying me on the bed. For a moment he disappears, but then he's back again with my blankets, rearranging them and tucking them in around me. Once he finishes making up my bed, he leans down and brushes the hair from my face.

"I was wrong," I whisper drowsily.

"About what?" he asks, crouching by my bedside.

Everything, I think to myself, looking at him. But admitting one's faults and imperfections is a difficult thing to do. I shut my eyes, thinking sleep is a lot easier.

* * *

"It's about time," Hope hisses, when I finally open my eyes again to a now sunlit infirmary. "I thought you had relapsed, for sure. That boy over there has been staring at you for two hours and the girl with him has been staring at _me_."

"Who?" I whisper, suddenly wide awake. My heart skips a beat. First I think of James, and then I realize that I might have a much larger problem on my hands.

"It's the dark boy with broken nose. He was in here last week too, same problem. How the hell does someone break their nose twice in less than a week? He must be the clumsiest, stupidest bloke-"

"The girl, Hope," I prompt her, dismissing the broken-nosed bloke for now (once I've established that it's not James).

"Oh, _her_. She's giving me the creeps! Won't stop staring at me as if I'm the mona lisa or something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against lesbians, but I'm straight. I'm interested in men-"

"I think you're overreacting," I stop her before she can go any further. "She's probably just curious because you're a new student," I say reassuringly, for her benefit as well as my own.

"Perhaps, but she's looking at me in the oddest way, it's like she's looking right through me…"

My heart starts beating fast again as I swallow down my mounting fear.

"Where is she?" I ask her, keeping my voice low and calm.

Hope quietly shifts in her chair and pushes back the curtain a few inches. Together we take a quick peek out at the rest of the infirmary. Sure enough two of my favorite Ravenclaws are staring back at us. The first is Rohan looking extremely silly with a broken nose, two black eyes, and a rare ridiculously wide grin. The second though…

"Ophelia," I whisper, my eyes widening as my worst fears are confirmed.

"Hello Lily," Ophelia smiles at me briefly, and then her eyes immediately return to Hope. "And you must be Grace's -"

"Room mate," I interrupt her, before she can do any damage. "She's our new room mate, right H- I mean-"

"Hannah Smith," Hope lies smoothly, smiling and sticking out a hand. Ophelia accepts it, clutching it between both of her pale hands.

"I've been waiting to meet you for a long time."

"Have we met?" Hope asks, suddenly losing her smile.

"Not formally," Ophelia says cryptically.

"Rohan Corner," Rohan says stepping in to shake Hope's hand. She forces a smile but she's still shaken from her encounter with Ophelia. Ophelia who in a way started this whole thing when she realized that Hope's coffin was empty at the funeral. This makes me wonder… Sure, Ophelia's crazy, but still, how did she realize that Hope wasn't dead?

"You look wonderful Lily," Rohan compliments me.

"Oh, uh, thanks," I thank him politely, "So- so do you," I reply, struggling not to laugh at the sight of his broken nose wrapped in white tape, and his two black eyes.

"Thanks, I'm thinking of keeping it," he says touching his nose gingerly. "Ophelia says it makes me look rather Gryffindorish." He grins at his friend. "I'm guessing she means that I look very brave and dashing."

Ophelia rolls her eyes.

"It makes you look like that silly Gryffindor Debbie McLaggen, the one that's always having plastic surgery on her nose."

I can't help but laugh at Ophelia's comment though I'm still not sure what to make of her.

"Ah, Grace would hate to have you comparing her well aimed punch to Debbie's face to a nose job. Though I must agree, the bruises, especially to her ego, however slight they were, were a huge improvement."

Rohan and Ophelia chuckle. News of our ambush on Debbie McLaggen just before the winter holidays had spread quickly. It was too bad that all of our combined hard work to take her down a few pegs had come to nothing now that her father was the newly elected Minister of Magic.

"What happened to your nose anyway?" Hope pipes up.

"Oh," Rohan says casually, "Nothing really. I got into a nasty bit of a fight with a vicious dragon. I won though, don't worry." He winks at me.

"Is that what happened the last time too?" I ask playfully.

"Last time it was a basilisk," he answers confidently.

"That's not what I heard," a voice blurts out.

The four of us turn to find Tiffany Crowley and Grace Adams standing in the doorway. For some reason, the sight of Tiffany makes my stomach churn unpleasantly.

"I heard that James Potter broke your nose…" she trails off, before adding quietly, "both times."

"That's not true," I argue. I sit straight up in my bed, narrowing my eyes at Tiffany. She blushes hard under our combined gazes, and takes a small stumbling step back.

"Well, actually it is true," Rohan admits nobly, giving me a small sad smile. "James Potter broke my nose twice. Once on the train coming back, and then yesterday in the skirmish that broke out in the dungeons."

"Oh!" I exclaim. "That's – that's so –" I stutter to a halt at a sudden lost for words. Usually I'm more than happy to supply a whole vocabulary's worth of insults for Potter, but after the last few weeks I've gotten used to a very different side of James Potter. I was beginning to like that side of James, but now I see that it was probably nothing more than a carefully placed front.

"It was rather mean of him," Ophelia finishes for me.

"Well, I don't really know the details," Tiffany backtracks, looking very deservedly embarrassed. "But perhaps you provoked him-"

"I didn't," Rohan contradicts her.

"I'm not saying – just maybe-" Tiffany is almost as red as my hair now.

"I don't think Rohan had anything to do with it Tiffany," Grace cuts in quietly, glancing at me.

"Yes, I think Grace is right," Ophelia agrees. "I think James just lost his temper and Rohan was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Rohan nods, suddenly looking extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable. I glare at Tiffany, my hands clenching into fists. Suddenly, I don't like Tiffany at all.

"You're – uh – feeling better Lily?" Tiffany inquires hesitantly, though she looks as if she wants to run away. I'm glad my evil eye works on someone.

"Much better," I tell her through gritted teeth.

"Great!" she says nervously smiling. She starts backing away, but suddenly I remember something very important that makes me angrier than I already am.

"Oh, and Tiffany, James said he would be by to visit later," I tell her, recalling our earlier conversation.

"He already came – I mean – thanks Lily! I guess I'll just go and wait for, er, make sure I have my uh – Um I'll meet you out there Grace." She waves to us and vanishes from view, almost as embarrassed and uncomfortable as poor Rohan.

But from what I gather from her incoherent babbling is that James did come back to visit her. Not me. Suddenly, I'm seething. Damn that jerk Potter.

"That git! He had no right to attack you like that Rohan! He's such an arrogant, pig-headed, insolent, selfish prat. He thinks he rules this school, that everyone should bow down to him. He's a cruel, heartless-"

"That's enough Lily," Grace stops me. I gape at her, but obediently remain silent.

"James - I'm not saying what he did was right," she sighs and shakes her head. "It was wrong, but you have to understand, he wasn't in his right mind."

"Clearly, he wasn't." I snort.

"Lily, I know it's hard to explain, but I think he thought he was protecting you," Grace concludes.

"Protecting me?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I know it sounds silly," she begins, but Ophelia interrupts.

"No, it makes perfect sense," Ophelia says softly, turning to me. "Lily, James got very upset when you were hurt and instead of acting rationally, I think he chooses to lash out at people."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" I exclaim, getting more frustrated and confused.

"Of course it doesn't now," Hope laughs softly, sharing a smile with Ophelia. "But one day it will."

Grace is staring at Hope, finally noticing her. I hold my breath, praying that she won't recognize her. Hope is much younger, her hair and eye color are different, and there are several other minute changes that I'm sure Heather and the others added, as well as notice-me-not charms, and other related spells, but this is still her mother.

"Who are you?" Grace asks bluntly.

"I'm Hannah Smith," Hope introduces herself, smiling brightly at her daughter.

"This is my best friend Grace Adams," I tell Hope, while Grace continues to take her time.

"I know, Sirius has already told me all about her," Hope chirps cheerfully.

"Oh," Grace frowns. Oh? That's it? Oh dear. This is not the reunion that I expected.

"Well, anyway, I came to give you your books and homework Lily. I thought you might want something to do while you're stuck in here," she says changing the subject and turning to me. She removes my book bag from her shoulder, and puts it down on the chair beside me. "I took notes for you," she says, smiling shyly. "I know I probably missed a lot of stuff and they're not nearly as good as yours, but I did try to pay attention more than I usually do at least…"

"Thank you, Gracie." I smile at her, touched by the efforts of my best friend. Once again I remember why she's my best friend. Standing up we embrace each other, and I'm sad to see that she has to go.

"I haven't done Slughorn's essay yet," Grace says reluctantly, making a face. "I'm sure I could talk my way out of it, but he's already given me two extensions…"

"Do your homework Grace," I tell her, laughing.

"I'll come back as soon as I finish," she promises.

"I'll be out of here by then."

She laughs and I know that she misses me too. I hear her collecting Tiffany outside. Madam Pomfrey is releasing her. Chalk that up as yet another reason why I suddenly loathe Tiffany Crowley. I run over to the curtain and poke my head out.

"Madam Pomfrey, I'm feeling much better. Will I be able to leave soon?" I ask before I can stop myself.

Madam Pomfrey whips around, her eyes flashing. Suddenly, she advances upon me, brandishing her wand at me in one hand, and a bed pan in the other.

"YOU MS. EVANS WILL NOT LEAVE THIS INFIRMARY EVER AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

Her wand shoots off a flurry of hazardous purple sparks that narrowly miss Rohan's head. The bed pan sloshes, and I jump back a step as something that looks and smells like vomit slops out on to the floor.

"AND YOU MS. SMITH!" Hope gives a whimper as Madam Pomfrey changes course and charges toward her. "YOU ARE LEAVING RIGHT NOW! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU CORRUPTING OR STEALING MY PATIENTS! YOU WILL NOT CONSPIRE WITH THEM TO PLOT ESCAPES FROM THE INFIRMARY OR OVERTHROW ME. AND YOU WILL NOT ENTER THIS ROOM EVER AGAIN UNLESS YOU PLAN TO SPEND EVERY MOMENT OF YOUR STAY HERE BOUND TO THE BED AND UNCONSCIOUS! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?"

"Yes," Hope squeaks.

"Good," Madam Pomfrey says, calming down considerably. "Now, if you would be so kind as to quietly get your things and go, I would appreciate it. You're scaring the patients."

As Hope scampers away, Rohan catches my eye. We both double over laughing uncontrollably.

"Something funny, Ms. Evans?" Madam Pomfrey asks, whirling on me.

I shake my head, laughing so hard that I can hardly trust myself to speak.

"Laugh all you want now Ms. Evans, but if I have my way you'll be paying for your little escapade by staying in here until the day your graduate."

She walks away before I can protest. I crawl back to my bed, slumping glumly up against the pillows.

"Oh, cheer up Lily," Ophelia says sagely, "If all goes well you'll graduate in less than two years."

Rohan laughs, and almost loses it again. But I don't find it funny at all. The thought of spending almost another two minutes with this woman scares me, let alone two whole years.

"Merlin, I want to know what your friend Hannah did to her to make her act like that," Rohan snickers.

"I think she had some help," I surmise, thinking of James and Hope's recent revelation that she had been talking to Sirius as well.

"You guys should probably go before Madam Pomfrey decides to lock you in here too," I suggest.

"Or kill us." Rohan shudders at Ophelia's comment. "She certainly looked mad enough to kill. I wouldn't want to be you Lily."

"Don't worry though," Rohan reassures me, taking my hand. "We'll do everything to get you out of here, as soon as possible," he says fervently.

"Thank you!" I impulsively throw my arms around him, catching him off guard and smacking my head into his broken nose.

"Ouch!" he cries.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry Rohan!" I apologize.

"It's okay, Lily, I'll see you tomorrow," he promises, holding his injured nose and smiling.

"I hope so. I'm really sorry Rohan! I completely forgot that your nose was broken. I can be such a klutz. I'm sorry!"

"Lily, stop apologizing or I'll tell Madam Pomfrey to keep you in here for the rest of your life."

"You wouldn't dare!" I gasp.

"I will." He grins.

"Rohan don't! I'll do anything!" I plead over dramatically.

"Anything?" he asks, pretending to think it over. "Hmmmm, I might have to take you up on that offer, perhaps if you accompanied me to Hogsm-"

A high-pitched scream drowns out whatever Rohan was about to say. We freeze in place, pure terror in our eyes. Ophelia springs into action, pushing me down onto the bed, and pulling Rohan down beside her. They draw their wands and crouch behind the bed, waiting. I can hear the blood roaring in my ears.

And then I hear another scream that makes my blood run cold.

"HE'S DEAD!"

* * *

**A/N**: I'm sorry it's late. Not my best either. Though I started posting this story roughly two years ago I actually started writing it earlier than that! It's been a looooonnnggg time! I'm trying so hard to update when I can but with school and work it's difficult. But I'll try very hard to put together at least one more chapter before February. Thank you so much for those of you that left reviews, for those of you that have stuck with me and for those of you that are just joining me. Thank you so much you have no idea how much it means to me to receive reviews! I would love to be able to improve my writing so constructive criticism is welcome! I'm sorry I can't respond to each and every one of your reviews but I wanted to get this out ASAP. **So THANK YOU GoldenLily, Sister to the Dark Lord, roliepoliecoley, Hanna, Spazandsister, edwardandbellaforever25, draesmer, Knight 03, cre8tive88, RaeGurk, Lilithas, Seekergirl, lilypotterismycousin, Alex507, Rob-girl, xaddictecx, .Its Raining Blood and Tears., Jaily, callmeGreen-Eyes, An Aspiring Author, gitgit, DancingCavalier, Michelle Hill, Sarahrules336, Snowflake Prongsette, Shetland lace, WhiteCamelia, ari dark princess, princes, SiriusedwardLOVE, maraudersGirl92 and EvilFaerie 17. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! Please review! **


	28. It's Too Late

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**:_ J. K Rowling would never torture her characters like I have._

**A/N**:_ I did my best to update as soon as I could. I hope you all like it!_

**Summary: Lily wakes up in the Infirmary again. Lily and James get into an argument concerning James's possible feelings for Tiffany Crowley. Ophelia and Rohan come to visit and Ophelia recognizes Hope immediately while Rohan seems to flirt with Lily. Tiffany reveals that James broke Rohan's nose twice and Grace thinks that Lily was at the cause of James's sudden loss of temper. Madam Pomfrey explodes and someone… is dead.**

**For In Depth Summary of Whole Story See Top of Previous Chapter**

**Chapter 27: It's Too Late**

The blood curdling scream and the chilling shout that followed resound in my mind.

Someone is dead.

My heart is thundering in my chest, threatening to jump out of my rib cage. I'm terrified. All I can think of is murder and Death Eaters. I've read too much of the Daily Prophet, seen too many pages of obituaries, been to too many funerals, and looked too often into the sad and fearful faces of my closest friends to associate anything else with death.

Ophelia and Rohan are crouched beside the bed with their wands at the ready. Both are calm and silent. Only Ophelia's unnaturally rigid grip on her wand and Rohan's quick darting eyes betray their fear.

Unlike these solemn statues, I'm shaking with fear, and I can't stay still. Sitting up and sliding off the bed, I ignore the soft whispers of protest from Rohan and Ophelia. Tip toeing to the curtain, I poke my head out.

Madam Pomfrey runs by agitated and distressed. She wrings her hands, and looks around wildly.

"SWEET MERLIN HE'S DEAD!" she cries, bringing her hands to her face. "DUMBLEDORE! HEADMASTER DUMBLEDORE!" She runs out of the infirmary calling for Dumbledore.

I push back the curtain, retracing the matron's footsteps. My heart quickens as I notice a bed in the back, closed off and sealed by curtains. The curtains glow a sickening shade of orange that grows fainter with every step I take. Rohan and Ophelia follow me, but hang back.

"Lily, it's too late. He's already dead," Rohan says gently, reaching for my arm.

I shake him off, drawn toward the fading orange aura by a power beyond my control.

"Rohan's right, Lily," Ophelia says softly. "The glow is the residue of a spell, marking the moment a patient's life ceases-"

I tune her out, hesitating just before the curtain. It flutters innocently before me, like a widow's veil, barely masking death and sorrow. I remember what happened the last time I disturbed the dead. Grace, James, Sirius, and I nearly lost our lives after Sirius and I nobly opened Hope's alleged coffin for Gracie. The moment our sullied hands removed the lid we unleashed the wrath of the Moon ancestors. If Hope hadn't come, we never would have gotten out alive.

I shudder at the memories, but I know I will not rest until I find out whose light has finally faded. I part the curtains and step into the shrine.

I'm startled to see someone very familiar and very much alive, hunched over the bed where a body is covered from head to toe with a stiff white sheet.

"Hope?" I whisper, hurrying toward her.

She does not turn until I touch her shoulder. Then I see her eyes wide, wet, and wild. I stumble back a step, surprised by the tumult of confusion, grief, anger, and shock I find there. Her face is filled with pure unadulterated fear like nothing I've ever seen before.

"He's dead," she whispers, choking on a sob.

I look past her shoulder at the uncovered face of the corpse. I frown when I recognize him, turning back to the anguished Hope, thoroughly puzzled.

"Hope," I begin, "I didn't know you cared so much about-"

Hope grabs my arm in a death grip that stops my words and my blood circulation instantly.

"I killed him!" she wails, shaking me violently, "Don't you understand? I MURDERED PROFESSOR BINNS!"

Hope lets go of me, and sits down on the bed near Professor Binn's feet. She's sobbing uncontrollably, paying no attention to the growing audience we have in the doorway. Rohan and Ophelia stand there shocked and silent, along with three other students suffering from what looks like the result of a Quidditch practice that went very badly. It's the last person on the end that worries me. Sporting a very unique skin rash and a giant hairy wart on her usually flawless face, normally I would have laughed at the sight of Debbie McLaggen in this state. But suddenly, it's not funny. She's the very last person on earth that I want to see right now, no matter how ridiculously silly she might look, because in addition to being the biggest slut in the Wizarding World she's also notorious for having one of the biggest mouths in Hogwarts.

"It's all my f-f-fault!" Hope moans, weeping into her hands.

"Don't talk like that, it's not anyone's fault," I reassure her, rubbing her shoulders.

I can hear them whispering behind me.

"Poor Professor Binns has been murdered!" Debbie sounds more excited than when her father was elected Minister of Magic yesterday. She can't wait to spread this new juicy bit of gossip and it infuriates me.

"Get out!" I snarl, shielding Hope from view. "There's nothing here for you to see!" I can feel my own voice threatening to break.

Rohan and Ophelia immediately morph into prefect mode, ushering the three injured Quidditch players away. But the banshee is licking her chops, and refuses to budge until she finds out every last detail.

"Did she use the killing curse?" Debbie wants to know.

"NO!" I spit in her face.

"She's going to Azkaban, isn't she!?" she gasps, her eyes widening.

"_NO_! She's not going anywhere because she didn't do anything!" I yank the curtains shut, and reach for my wand to seal them. But it's not there, because I haven't been given mine back yet.

"Looking for this," a voice says softly. The curtains seal themselves, and I whip around to find James Potter holding my wand out to me.

"James!" I gasp. "What are you doing here and what are you doing with my wand?" He tosses me the wand, and I catch it.

"I'll explain later, let's take care of her first," James whispers, nodding to the inconsolable Hope and sitting down beside her. I mirror his movements, sitting on her other side and wrapping my arm around her.

"Hope calm down, you didn't kill anyone," I tell her firmly.

"I d-did!" she hiccups. "He's d-d-dead because of me!"

James hushes her, but Hope just cries harder becoming more and more hysterical.

"I-I'm a m-murderer! It's all my f-f-fault!"

We're losing her fast. I look at James.

"I put a silencing ward up," he says, reading the question in my eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey went to get Professor Dumbledore," I inform him, reading his mind as well.

"Good, we're going to need them both, I think." He rubs Hope's back, and I can tell he's just as confused as I am. I take a deep breath, and decide to risk it before she becomes completely incoherent.

"Hope," I say gently. "Why do you think that you killed Professor Binns?"

"Because I did!" she groans, hiding her face in James's shoulder. "I poisoned him!" she gasps out in a muffled voice.

James's eyes snap to mine.

"The dreamless sleeping draught!" he exclaims.

"She was supposed to take it, but she gave it to Professor Binns!" I recall, slapping my forehead. When I woke up in the infirmary after the attack on the train, Hope told me she drugged Professor Binns. And James mentioned it too…

"It was my idea," James admits guiltily, frowning. "It shouldn't have killed him though, even if she did continue to give him her draughts over the past two days…"

"Unless Madam Pomfrey really was trying to poison her…" I trail off.

James shakes his head.

"No, Madam Pomfrey can get a little frightening sometimes-"

"A little?" I snort. "James, she threatened to chain Hope to the bed!"

"She's just trying to do her job. She really does care about the wellbeing of the students, and she is an excellent healer, even if she does have an odd way of going about it," James gives me a shadow of a grin before continuing, "I don't think it had anything to do with the draught. Binns has been alive since before the dinosaurs roamed the earth. I think he just finally died of old age."

"I think you're right, but try explaining that to Hope."

"I'm still here, you know," Hope sniffles, and I realize that James and I were so caught up in our conversation that we nearly forgot about the source of it. She calmed herself down, and neither one of us had noticed.

"Maybe, I didn't kill him," she sighs, mopping her tear stained face. "But then why do I feel like I did?" She stands up and slowly walks over to the side of the bed. She stares down at the face of the grumpy, boring old History professor that no one liked, and silent tears trek down her cheek. James and I stay where we are, watching her carefully. She has to be off her rocker if she's mourning him.

"Maybe, I am sad, because Professor Binns was something that I had in my old world, the past, or whatever state I was in with Mark, my friends, and my parents. He was still the same, and it was almost like I was able to hold onto a part of them through Binns, you know?" she laughs, wiping a stray tear from her eyes.

It makes sense when she puts it that way. Hope's memory was destroyed by a Death Eater's curse, and somehow she ended up in the body of her six year old self. From what I gathered from Heather and Danny's brief explanation (the one that James and I got caught eavesdropping on), James's parents, and whoever else was roped into the project were able to restore her to her sixteen year old self but only with half her memories. So, I guess in her confused broken state the loss of even ancient and boring Binns would be devastating.

"But – this might sound a little strange," Hope pauses, looking down at Binns with a frown. "When I heard that Binns was dead the weirdest feeling came over me. I felt like it was my fault he was dead, and that I should have been dead too. I kept seeing my friend Mark Adam's body instead of Binns."

James and I steal a glance at each other, not daring to voice the thoughts that both of us are having at this moment.

"But it couldn't have been him, because he was so much older, and so much younger. I was seeing two of them, both lifeless. But it was my fault that they were both dead, and it was the worst feeling in the world. Strange isn't it?" She looks at us with an odd smile.

She's remembering Mark and Chris's death! I grab James' hand, and he squeezes it back excitedly. But we remain silent.

"I know, it sounds weird to me too." She shakes her head. "I keep getting these feelings of déjà vu all the time, but the memories are always beyond my reach. I guess that's why they call it déjà vu though," she laughs. "For instance today when I met Ophelia, I knew her from somewhere but I can't put a finger on it."

James cocks an eyebrow at me, and I shrug in response.

"What's her last name?" she asks suddenly.

"Lovegood," I stop myself. I'm so used to associating Ophelia with her oddball boyfriend Lovegood who ran the Quibbler that I forgot her real last name.

"I think her name's Kenny," I say slowly, after digging around in my memory. Something clicks in my head. I've heard that name before somewhere.

"Her father's an Auror," Hope says, nodding.

I exchange another quick look with James, both of us wondering where she got this information, and why that name is sending off all kinds of alarm bells in our heads. We don't have much time to dwell on it though because Hope abruptly changes the subject.

"I think you better take the wards down James," she suggests, turning her attention to the curtains.

"Why?"

"Someone's trying to get in," she replies.

James flicks his wand, undoing the seal and the silencing charm. The moment he finishes Ophelia - the girl that Hope for some odd reason remembers - steps inside.

"Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore are almost here, so, I suggest you leave. But I think you better do something, your good friend Debbie is on her way to tell the whole school the bad news about Hannah and Professor Binns," she warns us.

"Well, then," James announces, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically, "I guess we better start one hell of a rumor and make it spread like a Sexually Transmitted Disea-"

"I think it's best if you don't finish that sentence," I interrupt James pointedly.

"Perhaps the bubonic plague would have been better example," Hope offers, grinning, since she had been pretending to have this illness so she could be quarantined for the past two weeks.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the nargle mistletoe messenger chain," Ophelia says dreamily.

James, Hope, and I share a look, just to be sure that none of us are familiar with this chain. James clears his throat uncomfortably.

"I think I'll just go start a rumor."

"Good idea," I agree with him, nodding. "And lock Debbie in a broom closet or something, while you're at it. That should take care of her for a few hours. She never learned the Alohomora spell," I explain, grinning.

"Hm, that's not a bad idea. It wouldn't be very hard to lure her in either," he ponders.

"If I catch you in a closet with that-" I begin to threaten him, but he interrupts,

"What I meant is that any male will do, she owes her reputation to the fact that she's not very selective."

"Don't even think about it James Potter!" I punch his arm.

"Why are you jealous?" James asks, grinning.

"Oh, please," I roll my eyes at him, but I find myself blushing. "Come on, James! She's a slut! I hope that even you wouldn't sink that low-"

"Hey," James interrupts me, looking me over with a very suggestive smile. "Why don't I just lock you in with me in a broom closet instead? Sirius told me about a very roomy one that I've been dying to try out."

"Number forty-seven?" I quip, recalling a conversation between Gracie and Sirius the day before. Speaking of which, I never did find out if Grace and Sirius checked it out or not. Grace and I need to have that chat we keep putting off.

"Come on, Lily," he says huskily, taking my hand in his own. "Come with me," he urges with a seductive grin.

"I can't," I reply, though I don't remember why. I can't really remember anything suddenly. But I can feel myself melting beneath his gaze as he strokes my hand with the pad of his thumb.

"Shit!" Hope grips my arm. "She's back!"

I don't need to ask who she's talking about. I could recognize Madam Pomfrey's distinct footsteps anywhere.

"Stop wasting time Ophelia," James says exasperatedly, grabbing Ophelia and dragging her away. Ophelia rolls her eyes muttering something about "flirting teenagers bitten by nargles" and they slip out of the infirmary just in time. But not before James gives me one last grin.

I'm still grinning like an idiot when Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore arrive a few moments later. It becomes apparent immediately why they took so long getting here. Or should I say transparent? I have to blink several times to make sure that it's real.

"Bloody hell," Hope whispers, her eyes widening. Now, I know that unfortunately I'm not hallucinating.

"Well, Hope, it looks like you won't have to do anymore grieving," I stifle a laugh as she turns slowly to look at me, and then back at them.

"You have got to be kidding me," she mumbles.

But this isn't a joke. Standing – sorry - floating between Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore is a ghost that bears a striking resemblance to –

"P-p-professor B-b-binns," one of the injured quidditch players stammers, coming nervously forward.

"See, Puffy? I told you I wasn't dead yet!" the ghost of Professor Binns grumbles, turning to the healer. There's no way you could mistake him for anyone else. Only Binns had an infamous habit of getting everyone's name wrong, no matter who they were.

"I see no reason why he can't continue teaching," the headmaster says gently.

"But Albus, he's – he's a ghost!" Madam Pomfrey blurts out, gesturing to the transparent figure between them. "It's simply unheard of!"

"I'm not a ghoul!" Professor Binns insists indignantly. "But I do have a class I have to prepare for. Will you excuse me?"

"Yes, of course," Professor Dumbledore dismisses him with a nod. Professor Binns turns and drifts away leaving a very annoyed Madam Pomfrey in his wake.

"Albus, you can't be serious?" Madam Pomfrey huffs, folding her arms over her chest, "You're letting him continue on as the History of Magic professor?"

"Yes." He smiles. "It looks like I am."

Hope closes her eyes and groans. Behind us one of the quidditch players swears under his breath.

Professor Dumbledore pretends not to hear either one of them, taking Madam Pomfrey by the arm.

"Now, let us go in and take care of the body."

"Of course," Madam Pomfrey agrees, leading the way. "But I think we've already confirmed that he's dead."

Once they're gone, the quidditch player behind us breaks into a fit of giggles.

"Shit, Grace was right about Binns being a ghost. I owe her four sickles and a three foot long Potions essay." I recognize him as one of Gracie's ex-boyfriends, Keith Abbott.

"Keith, did you even start _your_ essay?" his buddy asks.

"Nope. Think I'll be able to get an extension?"

"Nope."

"What do you think the chances are of Grace Adams hexing me if I don't pay up with the essay?"

His friend snickers.

"Shit. I'm a dead man," Keith sighs, resigned to his fate.

I laugh, chancing a look at Hope, but she's still shaking her fist at the ceiling asking, "Why me?" It's time like these when I miss my best friend, even though her mother is remarkably similar in so many ways and yet so different. Sighing, I drag her with me back to my cell, when all I really want to do is curl up in an armchair by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room, and laugh about this with Gracie.

* * *

*

"I still can't believe it!" Hope says, shaking her head in disbelief.

It's the following morning, and I'm trying to write my History of Magic essay, and Hope is still trying to come to terms with her bad luck. She's done a complete 180 since I found her mourning the loss of our "beloved" History of Magic professor yesterday, and is now wondering if there's a way to send him back to the afterlife. Of course there isn't, but Hope's intrigued by some of muggle horror movies I told her about to pass the boring hours of what seems like my interminable stay in this bloody infirmary. Personally, I think Hope's just trying to avoid going to class.

"Not only does Binns refuse to retire, but when he finally does croak at some age well past two hundred, he becomes a ghost! And the Headmaster lets him go on teaching! What are the chances of all of those things happening?" She collapses back on my bed. I sit in the chair beside her, struggling not to laugh, because she reminds me so much of Gracie.

"Well, you can't say that this was unexpected."

Hope props herself up on her elbows, glaring at me.

"If I recall correctly, wasn't it you that said if Binns hadn't retired or died by now he was going to go on teaching forever," I remind her.

Hope blinks at me.

"You must be a seer Hope, because your prophecy has come true," I quip.

"It's a figure of speech!" she groans, when she realizes that I'm right. "Now tell me again how to do an exorcism."

"Hope," I giggle, "you can't be serious! The whole school already thinks that you murdered Binns!"

"Exactly," she says, twirling her wand between her fingers like I've seen Gracie do on many occasions. "I mind as well finish the job."

"Hope!" I admonish her, laughing.

"Oh, come on, Lily!" Hope exclaims, hanging her head over the side of the bed and looking at me upside down. "You have to admit that you thought about it too. I've been watching you struggle with that essay for the past couple of hours, and you're not getting anywhere."

"I am too!" I protest, but Hope snatches the parchment out of my hands. Her eyes skim the few sentences that I have written.

"Did it have to be two feet or two centimeters? If he said two centimeters than you're all set."

"It's not finished, yet." I take it back from her, smoothing it out on my make shift desk of my History of Magic book.

"Obviously not." Hope smirks. "Why are you taking that class anyway? It's so boring!" she moans.

"Because I want to," I insist stubbornly.

"Why? What do you need to take History for? If you're aiming to be the next Professor of Magic professor, I'm sorry Lily, but I think Binns is going to be a permanent fixture unless you help me get this exorcism underway."

"No!" I glare at her.

"Fine," Hope huffs. "But I think you're still in way over your head Lily."

"Maybe, if you stopped distracting me I could get some of this stuff done," I tell her between gritted teeth.

"Maybe, if Madam Pomfrey would finally let you out of this damn place, I could," Hope grumbles, standing up on the bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask, as she begins to jump up and down on _my_ bed.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Hope retorts with a roll of her eyes. She continues to jump up and down, making the bed springs squeak. "I'm getting us out of here."

"Get down from there!" I hiss, furiously putting aside my things and standing up. I grab her arm to try to pull her off the bed, but Hope tugs me toward her, and I end up sprawled on the bed at her feet.

"Have you lost your marbles? Do you want to get us kicked out again?" I whisper fiercely as she helps me up.

"YES!" Hope exclaims. "Now start jumping!"

I stare at my best friend's mother, jumping up and down like an idiotic six year old, and I think that this has to be the stupidest and silliest thing I've ever witnessed. But I can't think of any better ideas, and there is a small part of me that is longing to join in on the fun. So, I start jumping on the bed with her.

The bed springs are practically screaming in protest, and the bed probably won't support our combined weight for much longer but Hope and I are having so much fun gigging, and jumping up and down that we don't care. That is until someone walks in on us…

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice asks calmly.

"Rohan!" I gasp, when I see the tall dark eyed Ravenclaw prefect watching us from the doorway. I immediately stop jumping, and sit down blushing in embarrassment.

"Oh, hello Rohan!" Hope says, pausing to catch her breath.

Rohan looks at Hope and then back at me, thoroughly amused or maybe just confused.

"Were you guys just having some fun…?" he trails off. I feel my face turning a violent shade of red as Hope starts jumping on the bed again.

"Oh, no. We're trying to get kicked out of the infirmary again!" Hope explains.

"Okay, well carry on if you'd like, but I came to tell you that I asked Madam Pomfrey, and she said it was okay for you to go."

Hope stops jumping.

"You mean I can leave?" I ask him hopefully, not daring to believe it.

"Yea, you can get your things together, or you could always stay here and jump on the bed until Madam Pomfrey blows a fuse, and takes both your lives. The choice is yours – _Oof_!"

Hope and I both run into him at the same time, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you!" I exclaim gratefully.

"Well I promised I'd talk to her, didn't I?" Rohan answers, smiling at me.

"You are my savior!" Hope cries. And I think she might actually be crying tears of joy.

"Good thing my nose is healed," Rohan laughs as Hope and I let go of him, only a little embarrassed that we let our excitement get the best of us.

I start running around the room collecting my things. Hope starts throwing stuff at me, and I'm not sure if she's helping or hindering me. Rohan packs up my books for me while I go into the loo to wash up and change. When I come back Madam Pomfrey is there with them.

"I wanted to keep you for some further observation Ms. Evans, but I don't think I can deal with Ms. Smith for another hour," Madam Pomfrey says, shooting a glare at Hope who ducks behind an amused Rohan.

"I think that you've fully recovered since your injuries seem to have fully healed, and Mr. Corner thinks that you're looking much better."

Rohan smiles shyly at me.

"So, I see no reason to keep you any longer," she concludes reluctantly.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." I bow my head, restraining myself from running out of the infirmary as fast as my legs can carry me.

"Now, take Ms. Smith and leave immediately," she orders.

I'm more than eager to oblige. Flanked by Hope and Rohan, I leave the infirmary for the last time, and I can only hope that I will never have to return.

"Finally, I'm free!" Hope laughs gleefully, racing ahead of us once we're out of ear shot.

"Hannah, please share with me. What in Merlin's name did you do to upset Madam Pomfrey?" Rohan asks.

"I think it's more the fact that I exist," Hope muses, causing Rohan and I to chuckle. She skips ahead, leaving me with Rohan.

"I can't wait to go back to class!" I sigh, happily. "But I'm so far behind! I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to catch up! I missed nearly two weeks worth of classes!" My happiness suddenly changes to anxiety. I have most of the notes already - thanks to Gracie - but there's still a lot of stuff that I have to learn. I would have to meet with each of my professors, and I would have to go over Grace's notes with her, and study them. I think I'll have to check them with someone else too. Grace, though I love her dearly, isn't the best student.

"Don't fret Lily," Rohan soothes me. "I hear you're one of the brightest students. You'll catch up in no time."

"Hopefully," I mumble, blushing at his compliment. But I'm still worried. I've always worked hard to get the best grades, and with NEWTS coming up next year I need to make sure that it stays that way.

"Look," Rohan says, touching my arm. I stop, and look up into his gentle dark eyes. "I don't think you'll have any problems getting the top grades, but if you think you need help understanding some of the stuff you missed I kept all my old notes, and I also made a couple of study guides that might help. I could lend them to you if you want," he offers with a smile.

"No, it's okay," I refuse, politely.

"I don't mind," he says shyly, fiddling with the strap of his book bag. Wait a minute.

"That's my book bag!" I blurt out.

"Oh, yea, it is," Rohan says, glancing down at it and then back at me. "I'm carrying it because I thought you might forget it. And then I didn't want you to have to carry it, because you've just been released from the infirmary. You're probably still tired, and I just figured…" he stops rambling when he sees that I'm smiling.

"Thank you Rohan."

"No problem," he brushes it off, breaking into another adorably shy smile. "And I meant what I said about my notes. I could even tutor you if you want."

"Rohan, you don't have to do that," I protest.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to," he insists.

"Um, thanks." I can feel myself blushing again, though I know he's only saying it because he's a nice kid who's always happy to lend a hand.

"I probably could use some help catching up…" I admit reasonably.

"Well, if you want I could meet with you in the library on Saturday. Does that work for you?" He's nervously fiddling with the strap of my book bag again. It's kind of cute. I blink, realizing that it's my turn to respond.

"Yea," I clear my throat, and tuck my hair behind my ears, suddenly wishing that I had taken a shower this morning. "Saturday sounds good. What time should I meet you?"

"Is ten o'clock too early?" Rohan asks worriedly.

"Nope, ten o'clock's perfect," I assure him, smiling.

"Great, then it's a date," he confirms, relaxing.

Did he just say that it's a date? What did he mean by that? Does he mean a date, as in a "date"? Or does he mean simply that it's a date, as in that it's an appointment or a meeting or – I give up! It's not a "date". Rohan's just a nice kid that likes to help people out. And I need help. And Rohan's a Ravenclaw, a very intelligent Ravenclaw that probably has very good notes…

"Er – Lily?"

"What?" I look up, realizing that I must have tuned him out.

"I said I'll see you on Saturday. I think this is where we part ways," he adds, nodding at the portrait of the fat lady that covers the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Oh, right! Yea, I'll see you then! Thanks so much Rohan!" I thank him again.

"Don't thank me," he says, smiling broadly and backing away. "I'll see you around."

"Bye Rohan!" I call after him.

I turn and face the portrait of the fat lady who raises her eyebrows, and patiently waits for me to give her the password. Only, I don't know the password. And where did-

"He just asked you out didn't he?" Hope guesses, appearing out of nowhere.

"No, he didn't. Do you know the password? Wait, are you even a Gryffindor?" I ask, realizing that there's still a lot I don't know about Hope – I mean Hannah Smith.

"Of course, I'm a Gryffindor silly! I wasn't about to let them put me anywhere else! Codswallop!" she says to the fat lady.

"I'm sorry, that's not the password anymore," the portrait apologizes, though she doesn't look very apologetic. I think she's hung over again.

"That's codswollop! James just told me it yesterday!" Hope snaps. She leans against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Mary Pewter - that's the Head Girl - likes to change the password on a daily basis. I think she takes her job a little too seriously," I confess, sitting down on the ground and preparing to wait it out.

"Well, I think she secretly enjoys pissing people off! Hey, you!" she calls out to two first years passing by. They stop in their tracks, staring up at Hope with wide eyes.

"What's the password?" she asks one of them.

"I – I – I can't remember," he stammers, backing away fearfully.

"You're the girl that killed Professor Binns!" the other one gasps, pointing at her. I get to my feet, preparing to do damage control.

"Yea, that's right, and if you don't give me the password I'll kill you too!" she threatens.

"It's Beedle the Bard!" the little first year squeaks before the two of them run off.

"That wasn't very nice, Ho- Hannah," I scold her, nearly slipping up with the name. I need to get used to calling her Hannah.

"Probably not, but it's highly effective. Beedle the Bard!" she tells the portrait smiling sweetly. This time it swings open for us.

"What kind of rumors did James spread about you?" I wonder.

"Oh, all kind of rumors! I think that my favorite is the one where Professor Binns refuses to give me an "Oustanding" on my first essay so I challenge him to a duel which I win by killing him with my pet acromantula. But I think James is keeping the good ones from me," she complains.

"Pity, I'd love to hear more about what kind of a murderer he's been making you out to be," I say sarcastically.

"The girl with the skin rash helped of course," she reminds me, referring to Debbie McLaggen or the banshee as we like to call her. Turning to me with a mischievous grin, she adds, "But only after they finally got her out of Filch's office."

"James took my advice," I laugh.

"Nope, Tiffany beat him to it," Hope informs me.

"Really?" I can't help but grin even though a part of me still wants to smack Tiffany for no particular reason at all. After all she's still one of my closest friends and I shouldn't be mad at her anymore, right? And she deserved to have her revenge after what Debbie did to her relationship with Zambini right after her father died.

"That's what I heard, but where's your book bag?" she asks.

"My book bag…?" I trail off, slapping my forehead when I realize that Rohan must have unthinkingly carried it off with him.

"Rohan was carrying my books for me!" I exclaim, heading back to the portrait. "We were talking and I guess we got distracted – Oh!" I run smack into James Potter and he is not happy.

Frowning, he reaches out reflexively to steady me with his powerful arms after I stumble into him. But when our eyes meet for a brief moment he looks away, and lets go of me as if he's been burned.

"Sorry," he mumbles, pushing past me.

"Sorry, James. I was just…" I stop when I realize that he's not listening to me. He storms through the common room, and hurries up the staircase that leads to the boys dormitories. Remus Lupin, sitting in front of the fire, takes one look at me before slamming his book shut, and following James up to their dormitory.

"Looking for this?" Grace Adams steps through the portrait, and removes my book bag from her shoulder.

"Thank you Gracie," I gush, taking it from her with a grateful smile. "I thought Rohan had it."

"He did and he came back to give it to you. But James intercepted him," she explains tiredly, pushing her hair out of her face.

That could possibly explain James's bad mood. After all wasn't it James that broke Rohan's nose twice?

"Now, if you'll excuse me-" I grab Grace's wrist before she can make her escape.

"What did James do to Rohan?" I ask her, fearing the worse.

"What makes you think that he did something to Rohan?" she asks innocently.

"Oh, I don't know." I roll my eyes. "I just have this funny feeling that he doesn't like Rohan. Perhaps it was when James decided to break Rohan's nose for the second time-" Grace interrupts me with a sigh.

"All right, I think it's time you and I had the talk."

"The talk?" I echo. I'm not sure I like the sound of this.

Grace hooks her arm through mine, and physically drags me over to a more secluded corner of the common room that I recognize as Marauder territory. Grace thrusts me into the seat that Remus recently vacated, and then turns to the lump of blankets in the chair next to it.

"Hey, I heard they're giving away free cheesecake in the dining hall," she announces loudly.

I'm about to question Gracie's sanity since she's holding a conversation with a pile of linens, when they suddenly start talking back.

"Mmm, cheesecake. Must get cheesecake," it mumbles sleepily. But the voice fades and a moment later it's replaced with snores.

"Damn it Pettigrew! I said _CHEESECAKE_!" she yells, poking him.

The blankets erupt, and I'm not entirely surprised when the fourth and final Marauder Peter Pettigrew appears with a severe case of bed head and watering eyes.

"What's going on?" he asks, wiping at his constantly streaming eyes. The kid must have some serious allergies. He immediately cowers when he sees Grace. I can never figure out how Pettigrew got into Gryffindor though Grace does in fact look very intimidating right now.

"Just beat it Peter," she growls.

Peter squeaks and disappears so quickly that I wonder if he apparated. I would have laughed, but now Gracie's giving me a look that makes me wish that apparition was possible in the castle. Unfortunately it isn't, and even it was I'm not seventeen yet.

"Ugh, these smell like cheese!" Grace sniffs the blankets and makes a disgusted face. She throws the blankets as far away as possible before settling herself in the now empty armchair.

"Now, let's talk," she says, turning to me.

"About what?" I ask nervously, as she leans toward me with a meaningful look and lowers her voice significantly.

"You know who."

I gulp because I know she's not talking about the evil dark lord that's wreaking havoc and making the papers. She wants to talk about James. I should have known this was going to happen sooner or later.

"What about him?" I respond casually, though I'm clasping my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking. I don't like the look in Gracie's eyes at all. She's not going to let me leave until she extracts every last detail from the very depths of my soul. I brace myself for the worst, but nothing could possibly prepare me for her first words.

"When did you start going out with him?"

"What?" I blink, my heart fluttering in my chest. She thinks that James and I are dating? Where did she get that idea? Did James tell her that? I should be angry. I should be furious. I should go hex him into oblivion. But I don't.

"I'm not stupid Lily. I see the way he looks at you. I can tell he's in love with you," Grace says seriously.

My stomach does an odd sort of unexplainable flip flop.

"Really? You think so?" I ask hesitantly.

Grace nods.

"So, why didn't you tell me that you guys were dating?" she asks, clearly hurt that I didn't share this information with my own best friend. What information? James and I are not dating! I shake my head vigorously, clearing it. What is wrong with me? I need to tell her the truth.

"Grace, we're not dating," I answer her honestly.

"Don't be ridiculous Lily! Debbie was in the infirmary when he asked you. The whole school already knows!" she laughs.

"The whole school?" I squeak. I grip the arm rests, my mouth suddenly dry. Debbie must have overheard James ask me to go check out the broom closet with him. Oh, no. This can't be good. This is wrong, all wrong. But a small part of me is inwardly grinning.

"Why didn't you tell me you fancied him?" she asks softly.

My heart speeds up and I swallow hard. I don't fancy James. Then why am I blushing? And why is it so hot in here all of a sudden? Even if Debbie did overhear us it doesn't make any sense. James was rude and completely ignored me when he walked in a minute ago. And James likes Tiffany. But that was before he asked me to go snog him in a broom closet…

"Oh, my Merlin. You do fancy him!" she gasps, clapping her hand over her mouth.

My face is tomato-red right now, and I'm sweating profusely. I need some air, but I seem to have lost the ability to move or speak. I do not fancy James Potter. Then why can't I say it? Could it be that maybe a tiny part of me does in fact fancy him? He is very attractive. And I liked kissing him, and talking with him, and laughing with him, and just being with him, and…

"Lily," she hesitates. "Are - Are you in love with him?"

Am I…?

I snap out of it. What is wrong with me?

"NO!"

I jump to my feet, breathing heavily. I'm not in love with James Potter. The room seems to be closing in around me and there's nowhere near enough air. I don't love James Potter. I start making my way to the portrait, trying to tune Grace out, because I do not love James Potter. I don't. I shove people out of my way. I don't. If I could just get out of this stuffy common room I might be able to clear my head of these silly thoughts of James, because I am Lily Evans, and Lily Evans is NOT in love with James Potter.

"Lily, just hold on a minute!" She snags my sleeve, forcing me to stop.

I whirl on her.

"I DON'T LOVE HIM! I DON'T EVEN LIKE JAMES POTTER!" I burst out.

And that's when I notice the look of pure shock on Gracie's face and that the Common Room is dead silent. Everyone - and I mean _everyone_ (even Peter who had gone back to sleep on the couch and that couple that was hooking up under the table) - is staring at me with wide eyes and unhinged jaws. But none of them matter to me. Even Gracie - my best friend who is standing right in front of me - fades into the background when I see him.

James Potter.

He's standing at the bottom of the staircase, gripping the railing as if he might crumble if he were to let go, and staring at me just like everyone else in Gryffindor house. Only, I feel like we're the only two people in the room. His eyes lock with mine, and I can't look away. For one moment his heart is so painfully easy to read.

Or what's left of it, at least.

Because in that moment, I realize that James Potter might have actually been in love with me and that now, after nearly six years of my insults, slaps, and chilly rejections, I just might have finally succeeded in breaking his heart.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, close to tears. "I'm so sorry."

James looks away from me, breaking the spell. Even though Gracie is tugging on my arm, and people are whispering and tittering around me, all I can see is James. Remus Lupin rests his hand on James's shoulder, speaking to him quietly. But he shakes his head and breaks away from Remus

"Let's go Lily," Grace urges, but my feet are rooted to the floor.

James walks through the common room, coming straight toward me. A hush falls over the room as he slowly approaches me. I would try to apologize again but I can't breathe.

Suddenly, behind me the portrait hole noisily opens, and two girls tumble out.

"I don't want to go the stupid party Alice!" Tiffany Crowley sighs, straightening up and stopping in her tracks.

"I was kidding, Tiff! I won't set you up with Filch or Snape, I promise. I was thinking more along the lines of…" Alice bumps into Tiffany, and trails off when she notices the silence and the stares. Even in my stupefied state I can see Grace out of the corner of my eye desperately making hand motions at Alice.

"James," Tiffany whispers, as he moves past me and stops in front of her. She looks surprised. Alice grins widely until Grace deliberately steps on her foot.

"Perhaps I could change your mind," James says huskily, closing in on her with that seductive grin. It's the same grin that only yesterday he had been turning on me. I feel myself going numb as I realize that I wasn't any different from any of the other girls.

"About what?" Tiffany asks smiling and tilting her head.

"Going to the Party," he answers smoothly.

How could I have been so stupid, I wonder as I watch the whole ugly thing unfold before my very eyes. Grace swears under her breath, and pushes a protesting Alice in front of her. She drags us both from the room but not before I hear the rest.

"I don't think so," Tiffany laughs.

"What if I asked you to be my date?" James inquires, making sure it's loud enough for all the common room to hear.

My knees suddenly give way. I stumble on the first step, nearly pulling Grace and Alice down with me.

"Arrogant prick!" Grace hisses, tenderly picking me back up. "Alice!" Alice hastens to help her, and between the two of them they're almost able to get me up the stairs in time. Almost.

"Well, then," Tiffany pauses dramatically. "That would be a different story."

"Good, I was hoping you'd say that. Come with me, there's something I want to show you…" His voice echoes in my mind even as the voices of the common room fade away.

Leaning on Gracie and Alice for support, I make it all the way to our dormitory before I collapse into tears. Cursing him, Grace protectively pulls me into her arms. Alice worriedly kneels down in front of me.

"What's wrong with her? Is she relapsing?"

"Something like that," Gracie replies, stroking my hair. "Why don't you make some tea?"

Alice nods and gets up to find the tea kettle.

"You weren't talking about James, were you?" I whisper to Gracie.

"No, I wanted to talk to you about Rohan because I heard the rumor, and then when I saw Rohan and James fighting I just assumed that it was true..." she trails off. "Oh, but Lily! Why didn't you tell me? All this time I thought you wanted James to leave you alone. I never knew-"

"I did," I admit. "I still do," I insist stubbornly, even as my voice cracks and another sob heaves in my chest.

Gracie looks at me and sees right through the lies.

"He kissed you," she realizes. The regret becomes even more apparent in her face when I don't bother to deny it. "How long have you been-"

"I don't want to talk about it," I interrupt her, swallowing my tears.

"I'm sorry Lily. I didn't mean to-"

"It's not your fault Gracie," I tell her, wiping the tears from my eyes. It wasn't anyone's fault but my own. I should have known better.

"I can fix everything, Lily. I'll talk to James-"

"No." I shake my head. "I'm better off without James Potter, trust me."

Grace opens her mouth to protest but Alice joins us. Alice hands me a steaming cup of tea with a concerned smile.

"Is everything all right?" she asks.

"Yes," I answer, inhaling the warmth and forcing a smile. "Everything's just fine."

And everything will be fine as soon as I get over this passing fancy. Because even though it hurts now, I know that I can do_ better _than James Potter.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, so I finished the first three quarters of this chapter days ago. But I had to decide whether to divide it into two separate chapters. In the end I chose to keep it as one long chapter and I added to it. So, don't complain about the wait because you got two chapters! I regret to inform you that school and work are going to start again so I probably won't be updating very often. But, I did start the next chapter already so I'm shooting for sometime in February or possibly sooner depending on what my work load is like. Thank you so much for reviewing! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter especially if you are a silent reader! And it would be extremely helpful if you could tell me one thing that you do like about this story and one or two things that you don't like about this story or that I'm doing wrong. Thank you!


	29. The Party Crashers

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling. I am so jealous.

**Summary**: Professor Binns dies in his sleep after Hope gives him her dreamless sleeping draught. He comes back as a ghost to continue teaching forever. Debbie overhears Hope blaming herself and James and Ophelia rush to spread confusing rumors about Hannah Smith before Debbie can tell something a lot closer to the truth. The next day Lily and Hope are finally released from the hospital wing thanks to Rohan. He offers to tutor Lily until she catches up with all the work she missed, or is it a date? Debbie spread rumors about Rohan and Lily dating around the school. Gracie corners Lily to find out what's going on after she witnesses James and Rohan fighting and takes it as fact. Only Lily thinks that Gracie's talking about James and starts to seriously wonder if she's in love with James Potter. Unfortunately she tells the whole common room, including James, that she does not like him. James responds by asking Tiffany out on a date. Lily realizes too late that she fancies James but is determined to move on.

**A/N**: _This chapter skips ahead a bit and I'm fairly certain my math is off so, let's all just pretend that it makes sense._

**For a more complete summary of the story please see the top of Chapter 26: You're Scaring the Patients**.

**Chapter 28**: **The Party Crashers**

It's been almost two weeks – an entire week, five days, six hours, and thirty two minutes since the last time I spoke with James Potter. Not that I'm counting or anything mildly obsessive like that. I wouldn't have noticed, but today's Friday, and exactly one week, and five days ago, I finally left the infirmary with Hope. I never thought I'd say this but I wish that I had stayed there. At least then I had an excuse to mope around and do nothing but sleep.

"Aren't you going to come down to dinner, Lily?" Alice asks as she checks herself out in the mirror. After all, Frank is going to be there. What poor naïve Alice doesn't realize is that Frank will still think she's the most beautiful girl in the castle, no matter what she looks like. If only all guys were like that.

"No."

"Do you want me to bring you back something?" she inquires, hesitating in the doorway.

"No, thanks. I think I'm just going to finish up this essay and go to bed," I reply, pasting a smile on my face. I've gotten better at that lately.

"Okay, if you change your mind I'll be with Frank."

As soon as she's gone I glance down at my unfinished essay. Well, it was an essay at one point. Now it's just doodles that I drew, mostly of stick figures that bear a striking resemblance to James Potter and Tiffany Crowley. That would probably explain why they have abnormally big heads, devil horns, and mustaches, and are falling off a broom into a fiery pit of doom. It doesn't look like I'll be finishing that essay any time soon. I take my time viciously ripping it into shreds, and shove the scraps under my bed so Hope - who I think is redeveloping that weird maternal cleaning streak - won't get upset.

I crawl under the covers and fold my arms, cradling the back of my head in my entwined hands. And then I stare at the ceiling, engaging in my new favorite activity: trying not to think about James. Only, it has the opposite effect.

I can't stop thinking about James Potter. It's probably because no matter how hard I try to avoid him I keep seeing him everywhere. No matter where I turn he's there with his fellow Marauders, Hope, or Tiffany.

I frown, thinking of the pretty little blonde and my alleged friend that James was supposedly dating. I still feel strange around her. But even though a part of me always wants to shove her pretty blonde head of curls into one of Frank Longbottom's lousy attempts at a potion, I can't bring myself to hate her. I sort of feel sorry for her since she's dating such an arrogant prick. She must be blind if she can't see that James won't keep her around for more than a week. So I expect him to dump her by tomorrow.

Okay, maybe not by tomorrow. But by next week they'll be broken up, mark my words. What? It doesn't hurt to be optimistic. Besides it would make me feel better to watch her suffer too.

I'm being mean and stupid. I blame Debbie for spreading rumors. I blame Rohan for being a nice enough guy to make everyone believe that they were true. I blame Alice for wanting the best for her grieving, heartbroken friend – the best being in her twisted mind, James Potter. I blame Gracie for finally giving into Alice's pleas, and then stupidly putting me on the spot so that I announced to the entire common room that I did not like James Potter. That was right after I discovered that I felt quite the opposite. I blame Tiffany for not realizing that before me, and being just plain stupid enough to fancy dating James Potter. And I blame James Potter for just being well, James Potter! What pisses me off is that I'm more upset with him for making me fancy him. And that brings me back to the fact that it is in fact no one's fault but my own.

Which is why I've officially decided that I'm going to stay holed up in my dormitory until Potter graduates. So, that I can avoid James Potter and finally get over him like I should have a long time ago. I'll become a hermit starting right now.

"LILY EVANS! GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF BED!"

Suddenly, I have a change of plans, courtesy of Ms. Grace Adams. I scramble out of my bed and dive underneath it. If I had had time I would have jumped from the window, but there is not even enough time to commit a relatively painless suicide. I guess I will just have to risk suffering the painful, torturously long death at the hands of my best friend.

"I know you're in here!" Grace hisses, stomping into the room. "Alice told me you're still moping around so, I know you're not sleeping." She makes a beeline for my bed and rips through the sheets with a vengeance that makes me very glad that I'm not in it.

"You better come out right now because I won't leave this room until I find you and drag you out by your ear," she threatens, and I know from experience that she means every single word. Which is why I'm too scared to come out.

She begins a hasty search of our dormitory. Eventually though she comes back to the center of the room and stops short.

I gulp, clapping a hand over my mouth so she won't hear me breathing. Her feet are less than a foot away from where I am holding my breath. If I can just hold it for a few more minutes, then maybe she'll give up and look somewhere else.

Fat chance. Grace bends down and checks under her bed. My heart speeds up as I realize that the hunt is over. But instead of discovering me she checks under Tiffany's bed, and then Alice's, and Hope's, and finally, the banshee's.

"Mother of Merlin!" Gracie shrieks, leaping back from Debbie's bed in horror. I'm crawling out from under my bed and rushing to her side before I'm even fully aware of what I'm doing.

"Gotcha!" she exclaims triumphantly, trapping me at wand point. She had faked it! The whole thing had been a ploy to get me to come out of hiding.

"That wasn't very fair Gracie!" I complain.

"Maybe not, but it was highly effective." Grace grins and twirls her wand. Did I ever tell you how much she resembles her half insane mother? Then she sighs, "Okay, fine! I'll count to five while you hide again, and then I'll blow this place apart to save me the time that I'll lose looking for you again."

This scenario seems even more frightening than the first. Remind me never to play hide and go seek with Grace Adams.

"You should have been in Slytherin," I snipe at her, resigning myself to my fate.

"Say that again Lily, and I might just prove it," she warns, and her blue eyes flash.

"All right!" I throw up my hands and step toward her. "I surrender. I'll come quietly, and do whatever you want, just please don't hurt me!" I plead, only half jokingly.

"Good girl, I knew you'd come around with a little persuasion."

Persuasion? She calls that persuasion!?

"Where were you hiding anyway?" she asks, but her eyes follow the trail of paper scraps and dust bunnies back to my bed, and she looks up disappointed. "You were hiding under your bed? Lily, that's the most unoriginal hiding spot. Everyone looks there first!"

"You didn't," I point out.

Grace glares at me, and brandishes her wand at me.

"Go get dressed into something nice," she orders.

"Why?" I ask, stupidly.

"I've figured out the best way to cheer you up, punish the arrogant prick, and make everything right again," she explains cheerfully as she flings open the banshee's closet.

"And how do you plan on doing that? Did you find a time turner?" I inquire, sarcastically.

"Nope, even better."

She turns to me with a scandalously short dress in hand and grins wickedly.

"We're going to crash a party."

*

Tiffany's the natural hair, clothes, and makeup guru. Not me. Or Gracie. But fortunately Gracie's constant reading of _Witch Weekly _has finally paid off. We're dressed to kill and I have to admit, we both look amazing. Gracie claims that she only reads it for the quidditch articles, but I'm pretty sure there are very few quidditch articles and those usually focus on only the players and their totally hot bodies. After watching Gracie work her magic tonight I am honestly considering getting a subscription.

There's only one problem.

"Don't you think that McLaggen's going to notice that I'm wearing her dress?" I remind her tugging at the silky, and obviously very expensive, cream colored fabric of the sleeveless dress Gracie had chosen for me.

"Lily," Gracie sighs impatiently, adding a final bobby pin to my hair which she had curled and pinned up in an elegant knot. "We're not stealing it. We're only _borrowing_ it. And besides, she has about three million dresses in there, and half of them don't fit her since she got her double D's in third year."

"Still, I think she might notice…"

"And I think that you're overestimating her intelligence. Come on, Lily! I changed the color and modified the neckline, and besides this is a girl that can't even do a simple _alohomora_."

Point taken.

"Maybe she won't be there," I surmise hopefully.

"She better be," Grace snorts, smoothing down her strapless black cocktail dress. "It's her party."

My jaw drops. We all hate the banshee, but Gracie's gotten into more fights with her than Alice, Tiffany, and me combined.

"Don't look so surprised, Lily," she chuckles, tossing me my cloak as she helps herself into her own. "Everyone knows that McLaggen throws the best parties and that is why we're going to crash this one."

"Gracie!" I groan as she drags me from the room. "What exactly are you planning on doing?"

Grace laughs sinisterly, leaving too much to the imagination. It doesn't make me feel any better when Gracie takes me straight down into the dungeons. By the time we arrive in front of a pair of black snarling gargoyles, I've thought of every possible scenario. All of them end in a catastrophic disaster, and our expulsion from Hogwarts. And then I remember that the last time I went along with one of Gracie's crazy ideas I ended up trapped in a mausoleum. I make one last desperate attempt to avoid our impending doom.

"This is a stupid idea," I tell her bluntly. I've dragged my feet and stalled unsuccessfully. So, I finally grab her arm, and start pulling her back up the steps.

"Yes, it is," Gracie agrees. "But you're going to go along with it."

"Or what?" I demand, propping my hands on my hips.

"You'll miss out on an opportunity to punish the pigheaded git," she replies, grinning.

I hesitate, tempted by this intriguing prospect even though I know that whatever Grace has in mind will have disastrous results. While I'm thinking it over, Grace is leading me back down the shadowy steps, past the creepy gargoyles with the anger management problem, and deeper underground.

"Er – Grace, where exactly is this party?" I ask, starting to get a little nervous after I step in a puddle of water.

"The Slytherin Common Room."

"Excuse me?" I stop short.

Grace lets go of my hand and approaches the dripping stone wall. She runs her hand over it, concentrating as if she's trying to decode a top secret message in Braille.

"Damn!" she swears. "I think we passed it."

"You think?" I snort, splashing her with the water by my feet.

"LILY!" Grace hisses when I accidently get her wet. "If I wasn't wearing these shoes, you would be drowning right now."

"Bring it on," I challenge her, daringly smirking at her precious shoes.

"Oh, I will," Grace answers, smugly.

With a subtle flick of her wand, the puddle of water rises up off the stone floor like a geyser. It hovers in the air beautifully for a moment, and then as if in slow motion I watch as the forces of gravity take control. I throw up a shield right before it all comes crashing down on me. Fortunately, I'm dry. Unfortunately, the two flickering torches attached to the wall behind me get the brunt of the water and immediately go out. Now, not only are we in some strange, unknown part of the dungeons, possibly lost, but we're also in pitch blackness.

"Good going Lily," she congratulates me, sarcastically.

"It was your spell," I counter, immaturely.

"Yea, but you started it," she reminds me.

"_Lumos_!" I light my wand, choosing to ignore the truth behind her statement. The dismal tunnel like corridor brightens once more, and I now know why they don't have many torches down here. The walls are damp and dripping, and there are puddles all over the place. It's a sight for sore eyes. Who would ever want to live down here? Certainly not even the Slytherins would enjoy these dwellings. I shudder.

"I think we should go back," I suggest, turning to go in the direction that we came from.

"Wait," Grace says, raising her arm and looking back down into the tunnel of darkness. "I thought I heard something."

I stop, pointing my wand in that direction. But all I can hear is our steady breathing and the rhythmic drip of the water.

"Grace, I don't hear anything."

She hushes me and moves swiftly toward the darkness with her heels clicking softly. I follow her protesting. But she ignores me, picking up the pace. Faster and faster we move down the tunnel. My wandlight bobs up and down as I struggle to keep pace with her. Stupid shoes, I should have never let Grace talk me into this.

"Grace! Stop!" I slip on the slick stones, snatching helplessly at her arm. Grace pauses just long enough to steady me. In that brief moment, I hear someone laughing down below. Grace's head snaps up as she turns her ear toward the sound. I'm forgotten as her eyes take on a distant look of remembrance and then an almost feverish desperation.

"It's her," she whispers.

"Who?"

"I have to find her!" I wonder what she's talking about, but I don't have long to dwell on it. Grace lets go of my arms, racing into the darkness.

"Wait up!" I call after her, scrambling to follow. But I lose sight of her in the darkness. Only the sound of her noisy high heels allows me to continue the chase that ends abruptly when I turn the corner and run smack into Grace.

I teeter in my stupid shoes, threatening to lose my balance. I grab onto Grace's shoulders, feeling her tense beneath my fingers. Peeking past her, I see that we've hit a dead end, literally, in the form of Sirius Black. And standing behind him with her face still flushed with laughter is Hope.

"Grace," Sirius greets her, grinning.

"Sirius… and Hannah?" Grace stumbles back a step, catching me unaware. I fall back against the wall, biting back a curse, as her weight rests on me for a moment while she struggles to regain composure.

"I don't understand," she whispers, looking from Sirius to Hope. "I thought I heard my-"

Sirius frowns, noticing at the same time I do the strange expression of disappointment on her face. But it's more than that. Her eyes sparkle with unshed tears, and it's like someone has just told her that she can't play quidditch ever again. Or perhaps…

"What's wrong?" Hope asks, anxiously as Sirius and I worriedly crowd around her daughter.

"She was right here. I heard her laughing, I swear," Grace insists passionately, her eyes moving past Sirius, Hope, and I, desperately seeking for another face.

"That was me," Hope answers, almost apologetically as she squeezes in between us.

"No," Grace shakes her head, rudely pushing Hope out of the way, still searching.

"Grace, it's just Hannah, and I, there's no one else here…" Sirius trails off, his brow creasing almost unnaturally in a puzzled frown. His eyes flick to Hope and then back to me, and in that moment I realize that Grace was looking for her mother. She had recognized the laughter.

My face visibly falls and Sirius catches it, his eyes worriedly flicking back to Grace along with mine.

"Are you okay?" Hope asks still concerned, stepping in front of her daughter.

I hold my breath, and beside me I can sense Sirius doing to the same. But Grace has wiped her face clean, turning a blank stare on her mother.

"I'm fine," she says, narrowing her eyes as if the whole thing were Hope's fault. "I apologize for the interruption. We were looking for the party, but apparently we've crashed the wrong one," she observes sarcastically, looking between Sirius and Hope with a bitter smile. Mother of Merlin, I sincerely hope Sirius and Hope weren't doing or planning on doing any of the things that Grace seems to imply that we interrupted. Sirius's expression seems to suggest that her accusations are false, but I think James or I might have to a little chat with his best mate just in case.

"Oh, are you going to the pimple face banshee's party too?" Hope asks eagerly, causing Sirius and I to laugh. Debbie McLaggen's rash, another infamous prank to add to the Marauder's resume, had lasted several days before Madam Pomfrey's healing salve had finally caused it to fade away. Grace doesn't find it funny though.

"Well, we were planning on it, but-"

"Great! We were too! We can all walk in together since James and his sweetheart have apparently abandoned us for a broom closet," Hope gushes, linking arms with her daughter as if they were suddenly best buddies. Grace looks murderous, and I feel murderous after what Hope just said about James and Tiffany.

"Lily," Grace hisses between clenched teeth, reaching back to grab me, but missing by several inches as her mother skips away with her. I ignore her, trying to get rid of the image that I have in my mind of James and Tiffany snogging in a closet, only to be broken up when I violently open the door. It helps that Sirius grabs the back of my cloak, forcing me to stay put, and jarring me out of my fantasy before I can harm either the fictional Tiffany or James. I blink several times, and shake my head, before looking questioningly up at him.

"Come on Sirius and Lily!" Hope calls.

"We'll be over in a minute. Don't go in without us," he answers for us, before turning to me with a troubled face.

"You're not dating her, are you?" I blurt out.

"No, thank Merlin," Sirius and I breathe a mutual sigh of relief. "I knew that James and you were hiding something. So, when James suggested that I help keep an eye on the new girl I didn't understand what he was talking about, but I was determined to find out since I could tell that you were in on it too," he explains softly.

"Sirius-" But he cuts me off.

"I understand now. I never would have guessed it in a million years, but I _know_ now." He shakes his head, glancing over his shoulder where Hope and Grace have fortunately met up with Remus. Otherwise I think that Grace might have unknowingly committed matricide.

"Know what?" I ask, innocently.

"I know that's Grace's mother." Sirius gives me a hard look, and I gulp when I realize that he really does _know,_ and there's no way he's going to let me talk him out of it. James is going to kill me regardless of whether it's my fault or not. An image of him and Tiffany snogging floats into my mind, and I decide that it's his fault for neglecting Hope in the first place.

"She looks exactly like her," Sirius observes softly, looking at mother and daughter in awe. "Why didn't I see it before? She has the same long nose that Gracie's always hated. Her eyes flash just like Gracie when she's mad and half insane-"

"You don't know half of it," I mutter under my breath.

"I realize that, which is why we're not leaving until you tell me everything," Sirius says stubbornly, catching my comment with his sharp ears.

"Sirius! I can't!" I hiss, cursing James over and over in my mind. This is all his stinking fault.

"Yes, you can."

Sirius grabs the back of my cloak, yanking me back before I can get away. His face is a mixture of anger and raw fear as he corners me once more. He leans in close, lowering his voice to something barely above a whisper but every word resonates powerfully in my mind.

"This is my family we're discussing. I would do anything for any one of them, Lily. They are may not be my flesh, and blood, but they are my heart, and soul. If they're in danger, I need to know so, that I can do everything in my power to protect them."

His words cause my breath to catch and my heart to twist painfully as I realize how much this must be upsetting him.

"Okay, Hope's alive," I tell him quickly.

"I gathered that," he remarks drily, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up and hear me out!" I snap, glancing nervously to where the others are waiting. "This might take a while to explain. I don't think we have enough time-"

"I'll make time," Sirius interrupts me.

"Oi! Moony, take care of those lovely ladies, will you? We'll be right behind you!" Sirius yells. Remus shoots Sirius a puzzled look, but shrugs and escorts the furious Gracie and her oblivious mother down the hall. If looks could kill, Gracie would have killed both me and Sirius with one glimpse of her deadly glare. Sirius waits until they're out of earshot, and then turns to me.

Even though he may have bought us some time, Grace's bound to come looking for me. So, in as few words as possible I summarize the situation that a botched up Death Eater's job and James's parents left us in.

"I don't like it," Sirius growls. "The fact that they left her alive only makes me more suspicious."

"They made a mistake," I suggest.

"No, Death Eaters don't make those kinds of mistakes. They did it on purpose," he concludes ominously, hinting that he might know a little more about Death Eaters than he would like.

"She knows something…"

"Her memories have been shattered," I protest.

"Exactly. They tampered with it first. But what could she have possibly had that they wanted so badly that they left her alive." Sirius leans back against the wall, thinking hard.

But my mind is racing. Grace already told me what they wanted. That day after I eavesdropped on her and Alice, she sat me down in the alcove and told me all about the explosion at the Ministry of Magic and the kidnapping of the former Minister of Magic (Rohan's now deceased grandfather) that Hope had witnessed along with another Auror.

"She was a witness," I whisper aloud.

"A witness?" Sirius parrots.

"Remember when the Minister went missing," I remind him.

"Of course, but I thought only Auror Kenny witnessed that. The Wizarding World hailed him as a hero after that which is strange because from what I heard from James, he's a dimwitted bloke that doesn't deserve his job," Sirius recalls, frowning.

"Why would it matter what James thinks?" I demand sharply.

Sirius raises an eyebrow, looking mildly amused by my tone of voice.

"Well, if I remember correctly, Kenny was the auror that let the two Death Eaters that came to your house, and attacked you, get away."

I had forgotten about that. On September 1st, after Grace discovered that her brother and father were murdered, and James, and Sirius flooed her back to the Potter home without me, two Death Eaters had snuck in and found me. When James and the auror arrived I was being strangled to death. According to James after rescuing me, the auror had stupidly revived the Death Eaters they'd just stunned and let them get away.

"And then Ophelia blew up at him after the funeral. He seemed pretty stupid to me then. Eddie said she moved out that day to go live with Lovegood and didn't even invite her father to the wedding," Sirius continues musing.

"Her father?" My head's spinning.

"Yes, Kenny's her father," Sirius clarifies. "And you wouldn't have seen the nasty falling out they had because you and James waited for Gracie after everyone left."

That didn't sound like Ophelia at all. But Hope had known that Kenny was her father. She had told James, and I that day in the infirmary when Professor Binn's body had been discovered. She had immediately recognized Ophelia.

Suddenly, I recalled Ophelia's words, _"I've been waiting to meet you for a long time."_

And it was Ophelia who had told Gracie and Remus one day after a Prefect meeting that Hope wasn't dead. That of course had led to the trip to the mausoleum where I had found something, but not Hope, buried in the coffin.

"Sirius, do you find it strange that Ophelia knew Hope wasn't dead?" I ask, softly.

"I think she's a bit of a loony, to be honest with you, so, an observation like that doesn't seem entirely out of character to me," he admits, sheepishly.

I make a mental note and put it to the back of my mind. But I'll need to talk to James. It seems like too much of a coincidence…

"I don't understand why I didn't know that Grace's mother witnessed that too," Sirius says frustrated.

"She didn't tell anyone," I whisper, remembering my conversation with Grace once again.

"Why not?"

I hesitate wondering how much information I should disclose to Sirius. His earlier words though went straight to my heart. I know I can trust him, and I know that James won't mind at all if one more person shares our burden, especially if that person was his best mate. Already he's helped me piece together some information. With a sigh, I resign myself to giving it up.

"I'm not even sure if James knows, but Hope went straight to James's mother and told her that the reason why the Minister allowed the Death Eaters to take him was because the Death Eater had threatened him with the deaths of more innocent victims unless the Minister gave him information about the location of a powerful weapon that his master wanted," I explain, pausing to catch my breath. Sirius waits impatiently for me to continue.

"Why would she go to her sister? Why didn't Kenny tell the papers any of this if Hope wasn't going to?" Sirius wonders. "And what is this weapon anyway?"

"Kenny didn't hear any of this, apparently. But Hope did and knew exactly what weapon he was talking about though I don't. Apparently Hope and Heather's brother Harry was the last owner of this weapon. He was an antique collector of some sort, but he had the wisdom to hide this weapon before he was murdered for it," I rush on, hoping that I didn't leave anything out.

"So they never found it."

"Not yet, they're still looking for it."

"Hope knows where it is, though," Sirius concludes.

"Yes, or she did before the Death Eaters attacked her and her memory was destroyed," I add. "Oh, and Heather does too," I recall, somberly.

"Who told you all of this?" Sirius asks, skeptically.

"Grace. You looked her in a closet that day," I remind him. "She overheard everything except its location. Hope fortunately passed that over nonverbally."

"Oh," he says, regretfully. "And you don't remember what this weapon did or what it was called?"

I think hard, trying to remember every specific detail of that conversation I had with Gracie in the alcove. It seemed like months ago when in reality it was only two weeks ago.

"It was very powerful. The wielder of the weapon could become the ruler of both the muggle and the magical world," I repeat.

"And it's name?" Sirius asks again.

"It didn't have a name," I realize.

A light goes on in Sirius's eyes and all of the color drains from his face. He swears loudly, pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning against.

"I take it you've heard of this thing before?" I hesitantly inquire, afraid to ask for more information after seeing _that_ reaction.

"I have. If only I could remember where…" He paces back and forth like a caged animal. Now he's making me nervous. I have to resist pacing myself, and suddenly I find myself wishing that James were here.

"Maybe we should talk to James," I suggest.

"I think that's an excellent idea."

But it's not Sirius who answers. Sirius pales and stops abruptly, looking over my head at something behind me. A hand lands on my shoulder and I feel a shock. But it's nothing compared to the shock I get when the hand spins me around and I find myself face to face with James Potter.

I gulp. Just a moment ago I had been hoping that he would miraculously appear and now here he is in front of me. Except that he's furious.

"How long have you been standing there?" I wonder aloud.

"Long enough," James answers, glaring menacingly at us. "You're lucky someone's smart enough to remember silencing wards," he growls. "Anyone could have heard the two of you gabbing away like a couple of old women. Then again it's not _your_ family that's at stake."

I look down at my feet, embarrassed and ashamed. But Sirius moves in front of me, facing his friend.

"You are my family," he reminds him, fiercely. "And that's why you should have told me first," he whispers.

"Well, I didn't have to," James says, directing his glare on me again. "Lily's already taken care of it. She's even told you some secrets that she's been keeping to herself all this time."

"That's hardly fair! I only just found out," I protest. "And if Gracie wanted you to know then she would have told you."

"Excuses, excuses," he laughs bitterly, shaking his head. "I'm so sick of your excuses Lily," he sneers, and I know that we're not talking about his family anymore. It hits me like a punch to the gut and my face flames. "While you try to come up with a better excuse than that, I'm going to go try and rescue my cousin and her mentally unstable mother from the snake pit that you two just threw them into."

He turns on heel and sweeps away. Sirius and I exchange a horrified look and then hurry after him.

"It was Gracie's idea," I reluctantly confess, struggling to keep pace with the much taller boys in my ridiculous shoes. "I didn't want to go." Sirius looks amused and unsurprised by this confession. But James ignores me and walks faster, leaving me in the dust. Sirius stays with me.

"Don't worry about him," he tells me softly. "He's just stubborn."

"I know," I groan, wishing that he wasn't such a stubborn prick. Glancing at Sirius, I decide to say something in an effort to make him feel a little better as well. "James wanted to tell you right from the start. But his parents thought that the less people that knew, the better."

Sirius gives me a small smile and I sincerely hope he takes it as the truth that it is.

Despite being a stubborn prick, James is waiting for us near the snarling black gargoyles that Gracie and I walked past earlier. As we approach him, he touches a rough patch of the wall and the outline of a door forms. It solidifies and swings open as a harried Remus Lupin stumbles out in front of us.

"It's about time!" he exhales in relief, holding it open for the three of us. Sirius walks through first, boldly meeting the eyes of two burly Slytherin students who are acting as guards. They sneer at him, but he smirks and claps a hand on Remus' shoulder.

"Something the matter boys," he inquires smugly, practically itching for a fight. Before they can respond an annoyingly high pitched giggle reaches our ears. Our own Gryffindor banshee bounces over to us, shoving her ample bosom into James' chest, just as he enters behind Sirius with an even more infuriating smirk.

"I'm so glad you came boys!" she giggles, hugging the two of them. Peter comes out of the woodwork, joining Remus. He whispers something to Remus and they share a grin and melt away into the crowd of students. Much to my surprise I recognize many that I know by sight to be Ravenclaws, several Hufflepuffs, as well as a few Gryffindors. But Grace and Hope are nowhere to be found. Before I have time to take it all in Sirius and James have been dragged away by Debby, Remus and Peter have disappeared, and I'm left blinking in the doorway.

I make to follow, but the two beefy guards step in front of me, blocking my path.

"Excuse me," I say politely, meeting their eyes determinedly. But it doesn't work quite as well as it did with Sirius and James. They just stand there, grinning down at me as if they didn't hear anything I just said.

I clear my throat and try again, this time a little louder, but their grins only widen and they nudge each other, and exchange a look as if to say, "Get a load of this girl". I can feel my face heating up as my temper threatens to come to the surface.

"Let me in," I order them in my very best prefect voice.

"Oh, we will," says the one on the left, who I think might be Mulciber with some sort of grease in his hair. "After you pay the price."

"The price?" I query, confused. "I didn't bring any money."

"That's not a problem. What we're looking for won't require a single knut," the smaller one, Wilson or Wilkes, explains chillingly. He lowers his cold steely grey eyes, until they come to rest on the spot where I had unclasped and opened my cloak as I walked in, exposing myself to their leering glances.

I back up, wrapping my cloak around me, still not quite comprehending.

"Don't go," Mulciber pleads, holding me still with a firm hand on my arm. There's no escaping, I realize with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Please, come in," Wilkes urges as he forcefully helps me out of my cloak before I can protest. Two sets of eyes rove over the low cut, silk dress that hugs my body in a way that I suddenly abhor. Wilkes's eyes settle on my breasts and I hurry to cover them with a well placed hand to my chest. What pigs!

"If you'll excuse me," I tell them between gritted teeth, struggling to maintain a polite tone as I shove past them.

Mulciber and Wilkes grab my arms, forcing me back.

"Who said you were excused?" Wilkes chuckles as he eyes me appreciatively, and caresses my arm.

"Let go of me!" I snarl, trying to wrench my arms free of their grasp. But they only tighten their hold on me and I find myself trapped in an iron cage of steely limbs on either side. Mulciber's arm tightens around my waist and Wilkes strokes my cheek.

"Normally I have a strict rule against mudbloods like yourself," Wilkes breathes in my ear, causing my entire body to go suddenly ice cold. "But tonight, we'll make an exception."

**A/N**: _I know that I should have kept going and not left you with that. But I don't feel well and I have a lot of homework that I have to do. The next chapter though will hopefully be up in February since I already started writing it. I just want to thank all of you that reviewed! I hope I didn't forget to thank anyone! For those of you that told what you didn't like about the story, thank you so much. It helped me tremendously. Please review! Constructive criticism or even a "I like it" is appreciated because the reviews are what really drive me to continue writing. And this time, if you'd like, tell me your favorite scene in the story! Thank you!_


	30. The After Party

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing, but I will feel sorry for you if you plagiarize because there are better stories out there and you have poor judgment.

**Summary**: Lily mopes as Tiffany and James make their relationship official. Grace decides that the best way to make James jealous is to drag Lily all dressed up to Debbie McLaggen's party in the Slytherin Common Room. Lily and Grace get lost, and Grace hears and recognizes Hope's laughter, but is disappointed to discover it's only Sirius and Hannah/Hope. Sirius pulls Lily aside and tells her that he knows Hannah is Gracie's mother Hope, demanding an explanation. Lily tells Sirius everything. Sirius and Lily decide that Hope must have been left alive because she had some information that the Death Eaters wanted, and Lily recalls the conversation that she had with Gracie (Chapter 25: Gracie Explains It All). At the end of August part of the Ministry of Magic is blown up by Death Eaters, by sheer luck no one is killed. (But the Hogwarts start date is pushed back after the Minister is discovered on the verge of death) Hope(Grace's mother) and Auror Kenny witness as the Minister of Magic is kidnapped by a Death Eater who thinks the Minister has information about a powerful weapon (the unnamable weapon) that would make the wielder basically the ruler of the world. Hope's brother Harry (Gracie's uncle who's room has been locked up for twenty years but Lily breaks into by accident the first night she stays at James's house and encounters young Hope) was the last owner (not wielder) of the unnamable weapon and Harry was murdered for it (when he refused to tell them where it was). Before Harry died, he passed on the location of this weapon to Hope, who in turn rushes to James's house and passes it onto Heather (James's mother) a week before Grace's house is attacked and her father and brother are murdered. Grace overhears all this because she is locked in a closet when Hope comes straight from the explosion to tell Heather that someone is after the weapon and that she might be in danger. Grace realizes that this information might have gotten her family killed, while Lily and Sirius realize that this information is probably why Hope was deliberately left alive. Sirius then tells Lily that Ophelia Lovegood, who was the one that sent Grace and the others into the mausoleum to check if Hope was really dead, because she thought the coffin was empty, and Ophelia also immediately recognizes Hope when she sees her disguised as Hannah, is also the daughter of Auror Kenny, the only other witness to the kidnapping of the Minister and the one that let Lily's attackers get away. Sirius also tells Lily that at Gracie's family's funeral, Ophelia and her father had a huge argument about something. James overhears their conversation and sneaks up on them. He's upset that they would discuss such a private and dangerous matter without being careful and naturally takes his anger out on Lily. They meet up with Remus at the party in the Slytherin Common Room, but Lily gets physically stopped at the door by the two guards Mulciber and Wilkes...

**A/N: I had some readers that brought some very good points to my attention in this chapter and in previous ones. I feel like I should explain myself. **

**First:** I know the whole thing about the unnamable weapon, the explosion at the Ministry and Hope's role in it is very confusing. As well as Ophelia and Auror Kenny's roles, so if you have any other questions, just ask and I'll try again to explain in the next chapter or in a review reply.

**Second:**Tiffany is an emotional mess so obviously she's not thinking too clearly and Lily didn't change her mind about James until after winter holidays when Tiffany wasn't around to witness. She also has had a string of boyfriends in the past. But I'd like to point out that Tiffany's primary figure in her life was her father, since her mother was out of the picture so to me it seems only natural that she's more attached to guys than most girls.

**Third:** I'm doing my best to bring the Marauders we all know and love into the story and I'm sorry if I've neglected them, I'm working on it. There's definitely some stuff in this chapter, though I hope it doesn't feel forced.

**Fourth:** As for neglecting Snape, I started this story Pre HBP and though I've incorporated several things from HBP and perhaps even DH, the Lily/Snape relationship is probably NOT going to be one of them. Sorry guys, though I will try to bring him into the story.

**Fifth: **As for where this story will stop, I'm still trying to work that out.

**Chapter 29: The After Party **

_Mulciber and Wilkes grab my arms, forcing me back. _

"_Let go of me!" I snarl, trying to wrench my arms free of their grasp. But they only tighten their hold on me and I find myself trapped in an iron cage of steely limbs on either side. Mulciber's arm tightens around my waist and Wilkes strokes my cheek. _

"_Normally I have a strict rule against mudbloods like yourself," Wilkes breathes in my ear, causing my entire body to go suddenly ice cold. "But tonight, we'll make an exception." _

"Get your filthy hands off of me!" I spit in Wilkes's face.

Okay, don't panic. Don't panic! I try to reach for my wand, but my hands brush over the silky fabric of McLaggen's stupid dress. Another chill runs down my spine as I realize that it's in my cloak, which was taken from me when I first walked in. How could I have been so stupid? Damn it. So, much for that plan.

I'll admit that I'm scared. Who can blame me? They're bigger, stronger, and armed with their wands. And I don't like the manic look in their eyes or the sick identical grins they're wearing on their ugly faces. But if I panic now, I'm dead, so I pull myself up to my full height and threaten, "If you don't let me go I'll sc-"

Mulciber's cold and clammy hand deliberately slips, and he boldly brushes my bare thigh. I open my mouth to scream but no sound comes out.

"You can scream all you want later," Wilkes chuckles softly at my shocked expression, tucking his wand away once he finishes performing the silencing charm on me. He calmly wipes the spit off his face before reaching for my hair like a child transfixed by a shiny object.

I snap out of my trance.

No one is allowed to touch me!

I struggle wildly against my captors. Twisting my head away from his sweaty palm, I elbow him in the stomach with all my might. He groans and moves back a half step, freeing my legs. I kick them, managing to sink one of my high heels into Mulciber's shins of steel. With a ferocious growl, he removes his hand from my thigh, backhanding me so hard that I see stars for a few seconds. My ears ring and I stumble feeling one of my heels snap and collapse underneath me. Great, now I won't be able to run away even if I could get away. Damn shoes! Thank Merlin they're only McLaggen's.

"I do love it when they struggle," Wilkes sighs almost dreamily as they quickly get me back under their control. Mulciber grunts in agreement with Wilkes, but he looks annoyed since he's getting the brunt of my ineffective backlash, in sharp contrast to Wilkes who seems to be intensely enjoying every second of it.

He's sick. They're both sick, I repeat over, and over in my head as they proceed to half carry, half drag me, kicking and writhing through the shadows of the poorly lit common room to a door in a dark corner. I don't even want to think about what's going to happen once they get me on the other side of the door that now looms before me. Desperately, I make one last ditch effort to escape, by digging my heels into the ground. Mulciber yanks the door open with one hand and prepares to throw me in with the other.

"Do you mind?" an annoyed voice asks from the darkness of the doorway, "I'm sort of busy here." Wilkes stops and Mulciber steps back hesitantly, obviously surprised. And as the common room fire suddenly roars to life behind us, the face of an extremely irritated Dante Zabini is thrown into the light.

The normally cool and collected Slytherin looks disheveled. His shirt is half unbuttoned as if he had been in the process of dressing or undressing… A blonde haired girl stands before him with her hands on the buttons of his shirt and his robe thrown haphazardly over one shoulder. The blushing girl turns slowly. The moment our eyes meet I stop struggling and she gasps aloud.

It's Tiffany Crowley! What on earth is she doing in a closet with a half dressed Zabini? Scratch that, I think we all know what she was doing but why? Sure, she used to go out with Zabini, but Zabini's shagging Debbie and Tiffany's supposed to be with James…

"Lily?" Zabini whispers softly, looking almost as shocked as Tiffany to see me. Is that concern in his eyes?

"Sorry, we'll be going now…" Wilkes says cheerfully as Mulciber makes to shut the door again.

"I don't think so," Tiffany disagrees, as Zabini stops the door with one hand. I watch in fascination as the two step back into the common room, grim faced and surprisingly angry as they get over the initial shock and finally come to their own conclusions about my unusual company.

"What's going on here boys?" Zabini asks, frowning and raising an eyebrow. "Surely, you weren't planning on doing what I think you were going to do to Lily."

Tiffany coughs loudly as Wilkes and Mulciber frown at Zabini's unusual use of my first name. He seems to realize this blunder because he hastily clears his throat, continuing,

"I mean, Evan's a…" he trails off, looking at me with the strangest expression before hardening his face. "She's practically a _muggle_."

"That's precisely why she needs to be taught her place," Wilkes concurs, leering at me in a way that causes me to shudder violently. "Now, if you'll excuse us..."

Zabini and Tiffany step in front of Mulciber and Wilkes, blocking their path. It's a bit comical seeing as Tiffany's the smallest girl in our year, barely reaching five feet, and Zabini, though he's no shrimp is still no match for the towering giant that is Mulciber.

"Give her to me," Zabini suggests, almost desperately.

"Why should we?" Wilkes sneers, eyeing Tiffany who blushes hotly but glares right back him.

Zabini nervously licks his lips, looking from Wilkes to Mulciber and then sets his eyes on me. Immediately his entire stance alters. He pulls himself up to his full height, seeming to loom over both Wilkes and Mulciber who's at least a foot taller than him. But it's his expression that's truly intimidating. His eyes are so black that they're almost soulless, but there's a barely controlled fire raging there, just waiting to burn anyone that foolishly crosses him. I can't look away despite how much it frightens me. There's something almost morbidly fascinating about it or perhaps hypnotizing. He turns his dark fiery gaze upon Wilkes and Mulciber, making them uncomfortable as well. Wilkes fidgets uneasily but his hands tighten possessively around me.

"You will give her to me and _I_ will teach her a lesson that she will never forget," Zabini orders, softly.

Wilkes's upper lip curls and he looks as if he might argue, but Mulciber relaxes his hold on me and let's go when I pull away. He lumbers back a few steps, and hits his head on an oddly shaped candle holder attached to the wall. I shiver when I notice upon a second look that it's shaped like a skull. In fact there are several of these decorative skulls throughout the common room adding to the already frightening atmosphere of the Slytherin's underground home. Instead of walking away, he walks into the same skull a second time, blinking stupidly. I know Mulciber's not the brightest bulb but it's almost as if he had been confounded… I glance at Tiffany and I swear she winks at me as she quietly slips away.

Seeing as he's just lost his muscle power, Wilkes doesn't protest when Zabini roughly grabs my arm. He quickly pulls me through the doorway, and slams the door shut in Wilkes's sulky face. Zabini then points his wand at the door, sealing it shut behind us.

"That should keep him out for a while," he whispers to me. "Come on," he urges, guiding me through the gloom to an archway.

My eyes are slow to adjust to darkness and I trip on the first step of a staircase that seems to come out of nowhere. Zabini catches me easily in his arms.

"Be careful," he warns me gently, setting me back on my feet. His arm securely encircles my waist, as he reaches up and plucks a floating candelabra out of the air. As soon as his fingers close around the cool glinting silver, the candles light.

"Here, hold this," he demands, thrusting the warm light into my hands. For some reason it makes me feel better. Even if I am lighting the way to his room so that he can lock me in rape me, at least now I'm not in the dark anymore. And I'm no longer unarmed…

I start to hatch a plan in my mind, doing my best to stall along the way. Zabini's impatient and understandably in a hurry. But he's jumpy and nervous, and he keeps looking over his shoulder as if he's worried someone might be following us. Still, he gently helps me up each time I pretend to fall and fail to make an escape because of his quick reflexes. The second time I stumble he wisely tells me to lose the shoes, realizing that they're the cause of most of my problems. For once I'm more than happy to do what I'm told. Soon after I ditch the shoes though, Zabini pulls me into an empty room

Once inside he looks around the dormitory anxiously. There are two four poster beds with the signature Slytherin emerald colored curtains drawn shut, a couple of desks, and an empty fireplace that looks like it hasn't been used since last winter. The room's sparsely furnished and everything looks so neat but at the same time oddly dusty as if no one had lived there for a long time. Zabini digs a piece of parchment out of his pocket, examining it closely. Seemingly satisfied, he puts it away and shuts the door. I hear the sickening click of the lock as it traps me in with my potential rapist.

"I think we're safe now." He breathes a sigh of relief and releases me.

I hesitate for a second before picking the candelabra back up. The moment he turns his back to me in order to survey the room, I run and jump him. Lifting the candelabra as high as I can, I hit him hard with the metal part of the candlestick holder. He cries out and falls down on all fours. Dropping his wand, he clutches the back of his head.

"BLOODY HELL!" he curses loudly, as I dive and grab his wand before he can retrieve it.

He sits up slowly, swearing and feeling around for his wand. Mistakenly grabbing one of the fallen candlesticks he throws it aside. My arm twitches as it comes toward me.

BANG!

It explodes in midair and Zabini freezes in place. Slowly, he lifts his head and notices me. I keep his wand pointed at him with one trembling hand, and hold my trusty candelabra in the other.

"What the bloody fuck are you doing Evans?!" he hisses, keeping his voice low.

I stare back at him, wondering if he really just asked me that question. What does it look like I'm doing?

"Evans, give me back my wand," he orders between gritted teeth, rubbing his head and impatiently holding out his hand.

He can't be serious. I respond with a silent, strangled laugh, and my arm twitches again. A red light shoots off to the side and Zabini curses again, ducking just in time. I wonder if maybe my aim's off because this isn't my wand. But then I realize that it's because I'm shaking so violently.

"Come on Lily, it's only me. Surely, Sirius told you about the prank?" Zabini whispers, changing tactics and switching his voice to a more soothing tone. Slowly, he advances toward me with his eyes on the wand.

I have no idea who or what he's talking about but there's something familiar in his expression, in his eyes, and in the very way he moves that's making me lose control. The candelabra slips from my sweaty fingers, crashing to the floor. Zabini makes no move to get it though, instead he lunges for me.

Something hot and fiery comes out of the wand, searing the sleeve of his shirt. I can smell his skin burning along with the cloth. But he knocks me to the ground, pulling the wand from my trembling fingers. I open my mouth and scream, though no sound comes out. Instead I look at him and a dam breaks as all the fear I had been holding back suddenly explodes. The tears start flowing down my cheeks as I begin to silently sob. Immediately, Zabini backs off, looking remorseful and frightened.

"Shit. Lily, I'm so sorry," Zabini apologizes, sounding genuine. "I never meant to hurt you…" He trails off, helplessly running his hand through his hair exactly like James Potter would do.

I look into his eyes and for a split second I do see James in front of me instead of Zabini. It's completely crazy, I know, but suddenly everything begins to click in my head. Tiffany was with him when I first found them, he called me by my first name, refused to call me a mudblood, caught me every time I fell, and then just now after he rescued me from those two Slytherins he mentioned something about Sirius and a prank. Abruptly, I remember how he stood up to those Slytherins, recalling the fire in his eyes and how I couldn't look away. Those weren't Zabini's eyes, they were James's. When he hesitantly takes me into his arms, I go willingly. My sobs become audible as Wilkes's silencing charm finally wears off, and I cry into his shirt.

"I'm James," he reassures me, and I believe him. I don't know why or how but I can practically sense him, even though the person holding me looks exactly like Zabini. "I took polyjuice potion. The real Zanbini is lying unconscious by the door. You walked in on Tiffany and I when we were trying to make the switch. It's all part of this prank we had planned. I'm so sorry I frightened you Lily, but I thought Sirius told you in the hallway earlier…"

I stiffen, wondering how much of this I should believe. But right now it's too much for me to process. All that matters is that this is James, and he isn't going to hurt me. I still can't explain how exactly I know, but I do. There's only one way to make completely sure that I'm right…

"You're a stupid prick!" I hiss, pulling back from him and slapping his cheek. James winces and lets go of me, holding the stinging spot where I hit him. He lowers his eyes ashamed, and looks like he actually thinks he deserves it for the first time in the six years we've known each other.

"I could've killed you," I moan, dropping my head into my hands. "I almost did," I recall horrified, rocking back and forth.

"It's not your fault, Lily," James whispers, placing a hand beneath my chin and forcing me to look him in the eye. "You thought I was Zabini and after what Wilkes and Mulciber did to you…" he stops, and his eyes go dark. "Did they hurt you?" he growls softly.

I hesitate and then slowly shake my head.

"But they wanted to…" he whispers, the familiar fire suddenly coming to life in Zabini's eyes. It's so strange to watch James's expressions in Zabini's face but now that I see it, I wonder why I wasn't able to make the connection right away.

"We're going to take care of it," he reassures me, making a fast decision.

"Come on, I'm not sure how much longer this potion's going to last," he explains, helping me to my feet. He runs his hand through his hair again, but Zabini's hair is shorter and once more it looks weirdly out of place even though the gesture is so characteristically James.

"It was stupid of me to take you up here, but when I saw what they wanted to do I panicked," he guiltily confesses, taking my hand and opening the door. I slam it shut with one hand, stepping in front of him and leaning my back against the door.

"James," I whisper, looking up at him.

"What?" he asks me, leaning closer.

I look up into James's face, the face of Dante Zabini and my courage falters. I'm not quite sure what I had been planning on doing, but it's too strange looking up into the face of a Slytherin.

"What is it Lily?" James asks again, softer this time. The space between us disappears, but I can't look at his face. It's too weird. I lift my hand running it mindlessly down the length of his arm. He flinches and pulls away from me as if he's been burned, _literally_.

"I'm sorry!" I apologize clapping a hand to my mouth, realizing that I just unthinkingly touched the burn on his arm that I had in fact inflicted. "I never meant to hurt you!"

"I know you didn't," James interrupts me, giving me a small smile.

"You should have someone take a look at that," I suggest, dearly wishing I had my wand on me so I could heal him.

"Later, right now I need to get you out of here and then see if I can salvage this prank." He grins and reaches for the doorknob, but I won't budge. James waits, sensing that I have something to say.

"I want to help," I blurt out, "with the prank."

"_You_ want to help?" he asks incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "Lily, you usually write me up for pranking people."

"Not if they deserve it," I answer, effectively shutting him up since he's the last person that would disagree with me. "You probably only have a half an hour left because of me. That's nowhere enough time to go back and I'm not going back down there alone," I tell him before he can protest.

James frowns down at me, looking as if desperately wants to argue with him but I refuse to budge. This time it's personal. I need to do this.

"Fine," James finally sighs. "But you'll need this."

He pulls a piece of parchment out of his pocket. Tapping it twice, and muttering something under his breath, he hands it over to me. I take it in my hand, frowning down at the blank piece of parchment. Then I gasp, watching in fascination as an invisible hand suddenly begins to draw and lines of ink spill out across the page.

"What is this?" I ask in awe, as my eyes take it all in. I quickly recognize that it's some kind of map, but not just any map…

"It's a map of Hogwarts," James hastily explains. "See, here we are," he points out, leaning over and touching a spot on the map near my left hand. I move my fingers and notice a dot labeled Lily Evans and James Potter.

My eyes sweep across the page, watching several other little labeled dots moving sluggishly here and rapidly over there. Near the top of the map I see a dot labeled Filch sneaking along the fifth floor. Lowering my eyes I spot the moving dots of the Head Boy Edgar Bones and Rohan Corner presumably doing the rounds on the third floor. Looking back to where my own dot stands practically fused with James Potter's, I notice another larger congregation of dots nearby. It must be the party downstairs in the Common Room, because I immediately find Debbie, Peter, Remus, Tiffany, and Hope together.

But where are Sirius and Gracie? I pore over the map, realizing with a jolt that we're not alone…

As if on cue someone knocks on the door.

"Wait!" I cry out, but it's too late. James has already opened the door, letting the real Dante Zabini inside.

To my horror Zabini tumbles into the room, slumping forward and falling face down onto the floor at my feet. I blink several times, vaguely remembering James telling me that they'd left him unconscious by the door. But then how did he get up here?

Suddenly, he groans and begins to push himself up on his hands. I squeak, staggering into James's arms.

"_Stupefy_!" James whispers and Zabini collapses, going completely still. "You okay?" he asks holding me at arms length. I nod, still clinging to him until a familiar voice causes us to break apart.

"Sorry, but I couldn't feel my arms, he was so heavy." Sirius Black follows Zabini inside, rubbing his arms vigorously. I gape at him in surprise.

"What?" he asks, taking offense. "You try pulling one thousand tons of dead weight up five flights of stairs and then you tell me how you feel."

"You could have levitated him," I point out. Sirius ignores me, looking around frantically.

"What held you up?" James asks.

Sirius doesn't answer immediately. Instead he turns around and continues to search for something. When he doesn't find it he curses and goes to the door.

"Sirius, where's the cloak?" James queries, grabbing his best mate's arm and pulling him back into the room.

Sirius swallows hard, looking oddly nervous. He throws his hands defensively up in front of him.

"Don't get mad at me James!" Sirius pleads, and then he begins to speak so fast that he's rambling, "She was sloshed and she cornered me and you know how hopeless I am with beautiful women. I couldn't very well leave her there and so I let her tag along but I should have known she'd torture me and run off with it but you know how terrifying she is so I didn't have much of a choice buttogiveitto-"

"Who are you talking – OW!" James jumps a foot in the air and spins around. I gasp as Grace suddenly materializes out of thin air behind him, smiling innocently as if she had been there the whole time.

"Grace," Sirius concludes his rant, giving her an award winning grin that has got him out of many detentions. "Want to give James back his cloak now?"

Predictably it doesn't affect Grace Adams at all.

"What cloak?" Grace parrots, clumsily hiding something behind her back. I catch a glimpse of something silver, trailing on the floor behind her. I look at James and raise my eyebrows. I always thought that James had a fairly good sense of fashion, but that has to be the strangest cloak I've ever seen.

"Grace, we don't have time for this," Sirius says, trying to be serious. I say trying because he's failing miserably. "Give me the cloak."

Grace stubbornly shakes her head. James groans beside me. I have a feeling that James isn't getting his cloak back and that this isn't going to end well for Sirius.

"Grace, I know you have it."

"No, you don-" she hiccups loudly and clapping a hand to her mouth, she giggles.

"She's drunk," I realize, confirming what Sirius already told us. James nods, looking as if he can't decide whether to be amused by his drunk cousin or angry with her.

"Come on Gracie, please?" Sirius begs her.

"Fine, you want it?" she taunts him, grinning. "Well, then come over here and get it."

Sirius grins back at her, taking the challenge like any true Gryffindor would. He takes a daring step forward and Grace takes two steps back. They freeze in place with muscles tense, looking into each others eyes, just waiting for the other to make the next move.

I watch Grace closely. Her expression changes, her grin faltering and falling from her face. She looks almost nervous. Which is why when Sirius suddenly dives forward, seizing her by the waist he catches her off guard. She squeals, tripping over James's weird silvery fashion disaster behind her and taking them both down.

James and I rush over to them, but Grace is giggling again and Sirius is laughing. Sirius steals the cloak and shoves it into his robe when Gracie's not looking. James and I try to help Gracie to her feet but she can't keep her balance. She stumbles into her cousin and he catches her again in his arms.

"Gracie, you're completely sloshed," he observes, dryly.

"No, I'm-" She burps loudly, bursting into a fresh fit of giggles.

"You're drunk!"

"And you- you're – you're bleeding!" she giggles, touching the back of his head where I hit him with the candelabra. James cringes when she reaches a sensitive spot and steps away from her. "I'll fix your boo boo!" she declares, cheerfully taking out her wand.

"NO!" I cry out, practically tackling her in order to pry the wand from her fingers. Grace is stunned and even James and Sirius look shocked by my behavior. Perhaps I was a bit too enthusiastic in trying to protect James. But honestly I couldn't help it. Grace can't heal a paper cut even when she's sober.

"James should go to the infirmary," I suggest, blushing as I reluctantly hand Gracie back her wand.

"No," James refuses. I open my mouth to argue with him, but James moves forward and holds his wand out to me. "You'll do it."

"James," I protest, shaking my head, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"I trust you, Lily," James cuts me off softly. He puts the wand into my hand and curls my fingers around it. I look down at our joined hands and then up into his eyes. Well, they're Zabini's eyes but I can still see James somewhere within their depths.

"Are you sure?" I ask, shyly.

James nods and sits down on one of the dusty desks. His head is still a few inches above mine but it's easier for me to reach him now. I examine the back of his head, immediately noticing the dried blood in Zabini's close cropped black hair. My heart aches as I prod the spot gently, knowing that this is my fault. His jaw clenches, but he's determined not to make a sound. I clean the cut carefully, and am relieved to find that the gash is much smaller than I thought. Another flick of the wand and I seal it up with the healing charm that I'm most comfortable with.

"Okay, now give me you arm," I tell him, walking around to face him.

He holds out his arm and I repeat the same process. Or at least I try to do this. It's difficult to heal someone when they're leaning over you, breathing down the back of your neck. My face grows hotter each time he exhales and I feel his warm breath tickling the nape of my neck. I can't concentrate. Merlin, why does he always have to get so close to me? Is he aware of what it does to me?

"James," I whisper, inhaling sharply and closing my eyes. "A little space, please?" I request, politely.

"Sorry," James murmurs, backing off just enough so that I'm able to calm myself down and return to James's burn with a clear head. James lets out a hiss of pain as I pull away the remains of his shirt sleeve. When I prod it with my wand, he reflexively seizes my other hand, holding it so tightly that he threatens to crush my bones. I press my lips tightly together, fighting back my own pain. James gradually relaxes his grip to a gentle squeeze as I quickly finish healing the burn.

"All done." I hand him back his wand, smiling as I remember the last time that I had to heal him when he foolishly burnt his hands on my stove back in September. I recall how he was reluctant to trust me, and complained and whined like a big baby all through it. Five months later, James is an entirely different person. It just goes to show how much has changed…

"Thanks, Lily. You're brilliant, as always," James says, smiling gratefully as he jumps down off the desk. I blush at his complimentary words and duck my head humbly. He tugs on my hand, leading me back to Gracie and Sirius.

While we were busy, the two had stripped Zabini of most of his clothes and put him into one of the four poster beds.

"What are you doing?" I ask them as James lets go of my hand to assist them.

"Zabini's giving us a strip tease!" Grace quips, chortling at her own joke. "Get it Lily? Zabini's stripping!" She leans on me for support as she laughs herself silly.

On the other side of the room James and Sirius are deep in conversation, speaking softly as they pore over the map of Hogwarts. Grace slings her arm around my shoulder, resting her head on top of mine. I wrap my arm around her waist, lazily leaning back against the wall as I watch the two Marauders work their magic.

"Lily, I need to tell you a secret," Grace whispers.

"A secret?"

Grace nods and lets out a dramatic sigh.

"I want to shag Black," she confesses, quietly.

I burst out laughing at her frank words.

"Lily, I'm _serious_! I think there's something wrong with me!" she hisses, distressed that the Marauders might overhear me and clearly annoyed that I'm not taking her seriously. This only makes me laugh harder, earning some looks from James and Sirius who have pulled out their two way mirror and are communicating with Remus. Grace really is upset though, so I quickly stifle my laughter and turn my attention back to my best mate.

"I know you're serious Gracie, but there's nothing wrong with wanting him. More than three quarters of the female population of Hogwarts would agree with you," I add, thinking to myself that some of the male population might agree as well.

"They're crazy," she says, shaking her head.

"So are you," I point out, smirking.

"They don't know him!" she argues.

"But you do." I smile. "And you still fancy him."

"I do not," Gracie insists, weakly. "I just want to stare at him… in bed… and perhaps we could…"

I snort loudly, stifling a laugh. Grace starts to protest again, but the alcohol hinders her ability to organize a logical rebuttal. Her face is bright red when she finally gives up and simply settles on glaring at me. Another snort escapes me as I fail to hide my amusement and suddenly we're both giggling.

"Okay, maybe just a tiny, tiny, tiny bit," she admits reluctantly, blushing hard. "But only when I'm drunk," she adds, staring at Sirius. As if he feels her eyes upon him he lifts his head and looks up at us with a devilish grin.

"Oi! Would you two quit giggling!? We could use some help over here!" Sirius calls to us, waving us over. Grace runs and pitches forward, falling into Sirius's arms. Boy, she doesn't waste any time. I snicker and she glares at me as he helps her to a chair. James stealthily slips past me, exiting the room.

"Where's he going?" I ask, alarmed. It has to have been more than an hour. The polyjuice should have already worn off.

"He'll be back in a moment," Sirius reassures me, handing me the map. "Here, keep an eye on him and tell me when Ursula Selwynn comes by, would you?" I frown at this odd request.

"Ursula Selwynn is ugly," Grace blurts out drunkenly, voicing my thoughts about the smelly hump backed Slytherin girl who was probably the unfortunate product of some serious inbreeding. Despite having the purest blood, even the Slytherins tended to avoid her like the plague.

"Exactly," Sirius concurs, grinning mischievously.

Slowly, I start to piece together a picture in my mind. They had begun the prank in an effort to humiliate Zabini and therefore McLaggen as well. They'd stripped him from head to toe and put him in a bed and now they were waiting for Ursula.

"You're going to make it look like Zabini and Selwynn slept together!" I exclaim, jumping to my own conclusions.

"Perhaps," Sirius shrugs, his eyes twinkling.

"That's cruel!" I admonish him, though Zabini and McLaggen deserve it after what they did to Tiffany. And Selwynn's cruel too. Just last week when Rohan and I were on our way back from a particularly grueling study session in the library, we caught her torturing and killing some poor Hufflepuff's owl and had to dock points from Slytherin.

"If you thought it was cruel then you shouldn't have offered to help," Sirius retorts.

I bite my tongue because he's right of course. I look back down at the map, anxiously tracking James's progress up to the Sixth Year dormitory, Zabini's dormitory. No sooner had he got there when Urusla comes up the steps and heads straight for Zabini's dormitory. I have a sneaking suspicion that one of our other marauding friends might have sent her there. James lets her in and they stop for a couple of minutes before turning and heading our way.

"They're coming," I warn Sirius.

This time when Selwynn comes in, I'm prepared when we open the door and she falls face down on the floor with a bang. I wince. That's going to leave a mark, not like it's going to be noticeable with all the other dents and scars she has on her face. James wrinkles his nose, reluctantly shutting the door behind him so that we're trapped in a room with her stench. Sirius and James carry her over to a chair and leave her there.

"From what I gathered when I spoke with her briefly, I think the rest she can take care of on her own," James quips, smirking.

"Thank Merlin! The sight of half naked Slytherins is making me nauseous. I think I'm going to have nightmares about this," Sirius laments, shuddering.

"Is everything all set?" James asks Sirius.

Sirius nods.

"Then let's get moving!"

Sirius offers Grace a hand, pulling her out of her chair. James heads to the door and pokes his head out to check if it's all clear.

"Wait!" I stop them, holding up my hand. I've been watching the map for the past few minutes, noticing the dot labeled Wilkes moving rapidly toward the staircase. "Wilkes is coming this way."

A change immediately comes over James as if he's possessed. His upper lip curls and he growls deep in his throat. His eyes go black, smoldering like hot coals. Grace and Sirius back away from him in surprise and I tremble under the frightening combination of James and Zabini's furious gaze.

"I'll kill him if he comes near you again!" he swears.

"No!" I yell, snagging his hand.

"Lily, he tried to hurt you!" James bursts out, furiously.

Sirius pales, gripping Grace's shoulder. My best friend looks at me searchingly, torn between confusion, concern, and a growing anger. I turn to James and refuse to meet her eyes, knowing that even in her inebriated condition she'll see the truth and resort to dangerous measures. I can control Grace and James separately, but not both of them at the same time.

"James, just listen to me," I plead with him. He grudgingly stays put, giving me an opportunity to explain myself. "I think I might have a better idea."

James leans toward me, his interest piqued. Grace and Sirius join us and I hastily explain to them what I have in mind. I keep a close eye on the map taking note of Wilke's leisurely climb up the steps.

"Okay," I tell them once I finish with my explanation. "He's almost here."

"Quick! Get under the cloak!" James orders Sirius. Sirius takes out the strange silvery cloak and pulls Grace to his side.

"Lily, get down!" James hisses and I obediently duck behind the desk as planned. When I look back Grace and Sirius have vanished from view. I blink, wondering if my eyes are playing tricks on me but there's no way that they both could have hidden that quickly.

"Lily?" James whispers, from where he crouches by the door across from me. I quickly turn my attention back to the map, watching as Wilkes comes closer and closer until finally when I don't think James or I can sit still for any longer…

"Now!"

James shoots forward like a bullet. He knocks him unconscious with a blow to the head using my trusty candelabra. He then stuns the shocked Wilkes with Zabini's wand just to be sure, dragging him into the room before he can recover. I shut the door and hastily strip him of most of his clothes with a flick of James's wand as James dumps him onto the bed with Zabini, arranging them in a suggestive position. James and I quickly switch the wands back, knowing that any minute now the polyjuice potion is going to wear off and we'll be caught.

"Sirius, take Lily!"

A hand reaches out of the thin air and grabs me. I gasp as I encounter cloth and limbs and then suddenly I'm beneath some sort of see through blanket standing between Grace and Sirius.

"What the -?"

"It's an invisibility cloak," Grace replies, grinning. "It makes the wearer invisible," she explains as she turns me around and Sirius starts walking forward, forcing us to crouch and stick close behind him or else the cloak won't cover us.

"Never would have guessed," I respond dryly, earning a giggle from Grace and a glare from James.

We exit the room behind James, but James stops to retrieve something, telling us to go ahead of him.

"Hurry up!" I hiss as we pass.

Together the three of us walk down the five flights of stairs. It's tough considering that Sirius and Grace are both so tall that they have to bend over in order for the cloak to cover all three of us fully. Fortunately, we only have one close encounter with a grumbling third year lost in his own miserable thoughts and see no one else on our trek down. Once we get back into the common room it's more difficult for us to go unnoticed. Sirius stops by the door and suggests that we rejoin the party one by one so we won't be suspected.

I have no desire to party at this point especially knowing that Mulciber is still out there somewhere. I didn't even want to come in the first place. It was Grace's idea and though she never intended for the whole Wilkes and Mulciber catastrophe to happen, I should have known better than to go to McLaggen's dumb party with her just to make James jealous. Grace's head droops, falling onto Sirius's shoulder for the second time since we left James. I think the alcohol is making her sleepy.

"Grace is exhausted, Sirius. Why don't I take her back to the dormitory with me?" I offer, using Grace as my ticket out of this hell hole.

Sirius looks like he wants to disagree with me, but Grace yawns and drools on his shirt. He makes a face and then laughs softly as her eyes snap open and she jolts awake again.

"What?" she asks, rubbing her eyes sleepily and smudging her mascara.

Sirius lifts his hand and cupping her face he gently cleans the spot with his thumb. Grace leans into his hand, closing her eyes for a moment. He lets his hand linger there for a moment, gently caressing her cheek, and then as her eyes flutter open he quickly pulls away.

"You had something on your face," he explains, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Well, I better go. Take the cloak with you and watch out for Filch," he reminds me. He leaves us under the cloak and hurriedly disappears into the crowd of students.

"Where's Sirius going?" Grace asks me, disappointed to see him go.

"I don't know," I admit, shrugging my shoulders. "But you'll see him tomorrow," I add in an effort to buoy her spirits. Grace smiles at me, allowing me to steer her in the direction of the exit.

We stick close to the wall, managing to avoid everyone when a shout forces our attention back to the center of the common room where the party was just beginning to break up. There's McLaggen shrieking about how she just discovered her precious Zabini in a room having a threesome with Wilkes and Selwynn. A flood of nosy students hurry to follow McLaggen back to the scandalous scene of the crime. One ambitious Slytherin is already claiming that he has pictures to show and would be willing to sell them to the first twenty people for a mere eighteen sickles a photo. I have a feeling I know how he got those photographs so quickly. Grace laughs beside me when we finally spot the culprits Tiffany, Hope, Sirius, Remus, and Peter congratulating each other and laughing so hard that they can barely stand up straight. But James is nowhere to be found.

"What's the matter, Lily?" Grace asks, nudging me.

"Where's James?" I wonder, anxiously searching for him in the chaos.

"I'm sure he's fine," Grace reassures me sleepily, squeezing my shoulder. But I can't help thinking that he changed back into himself before he got safely out of the Slytherin dormitories. What if he got himself into trouble?

"I want to make sure," I tell her, stepping out from underneath the cloak before she can grab me.

"Lily!" she hisses. "Get back here!" I hear her footsteps following me but I dismiss her, quietly promising that I'll be right back. I start back toward the dormitories, leaving her behind and taking care to avoid the flow of people running in the same direction. Suddenly, a hand touches my shoulder.

"Grace, please, just give me a minute to find him," I tell her.

She spins me around but instead of Gracie I find myself face to face with James Potter.

"James!" I gasp, breaking involuntarily into a grin at the sight of him. It's amazing how much I missed seeing those beautiful hazel eyes half hidden behind wire rimmed spectacles and messy black bangs. I have to resist the urge to run my hand through his hair and reveal those hazel eyes in all their fullness.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," James teases me. "And," he says, taking one of his arms out from behind his back, "I thought that you might be needing this…"

He hands me my cloak. I take it from him, double checking to make sure that my wand is still in the pocket. I'm relieved to find that it's still there. Smiling gratefully, I wrap my arm around him and pull him close to me.

"Thank you," I whisper in his ear and then I impulsively kiss his cheek. I step back, preparing to go back to Grace but James's fingers close around my wrist.

"Lily."

I look up into his face, waiting for him to finish. He doesn't say anything, instead he just stares at me as if he's drinking me in. All of me. He's not just looking at McLaggen's stupid revealing dress, but my eyes which are probably puffy from crying earlier and my hair which is a complete mess. When he looks at me like that, even when he does allow his eyes to rove over my body, I don't feel violated like I did when Wilkes and Mulciber leered at me. I feel no need to cover myself or hide from him, because it's James and I know that when he sees me he sees all of me.

"You look beautiful," he compliments me, softly.

"Thanks," I smile shyly, feeling my cheeks flush. He lets go and I turn away, trying to still my pounding heart. James has told me millions of times that he thinks I'm beautiful, but the mere words always meant nothing to me until tonight.

Tonight, he didn't have to say anything. He spoke with his eyes.

Grace meets me near the exit. As she throws the cloak over me I turn back, trying to catch one last glimpse of him. I find him just as he rejoins his friends. Tiffany laughs and throws her arms around him. She kisses him. And he doesn't pull away. My fists clench and my chest constricts painfully but I determinedly turn my back on them.

"Come on, Lily," Grace whispers, gently guiding me out the door.

I don't look back because there's nowhere to go now but forward.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, once again I had it halfway done and then decided to extend it so be happy that I gave you a longer chapter. I'm terribly tired and I'm not too pleased with parts of this chapter but others I think turned out okay. The next chapter unfortunately won't be out until March probably because school is insane and there is no break in sight. Thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers, I can't believe how many reviews I got for the last chapter. Honestly, the only reason why I kept working on this chapter was because I didn't want to let you guys down. I already responded to most of you that signed in. If you don't want me too, just let me know. Thanks also Shscheergirl20(_I remember you! I'm so glad you found it and I hope you continue reading and yes I've posted a lot since I left the other site so it might be confusing and it has been a LONG time_!), Jessique (_Haha, that's happened to me before. I'm glad you liked the part where Lily's hiding under the bed_!), DiZd (_That's a good idea, and it's all in the Gracie Explains It All chapter, I think it's Chapter 25 but I'll put in a summary_), Bittersweet (_I'm so glad you like my story and you took the time to read it. Your English is very good and I admire you for being so fluent in another language. I have been neglecting the Marauders and I'm trying to bring them into the story with the pranks and the map. As for Snape, sorry but I'm cutting the Lily/Snape relationship introduced in Bk.7 out of this story because I started writing it long before DH came out but I'll try to include him anyway), _Raegurk (_hope you didn't have to wait too long_!), Bridie (_I'm so glad you like the story! And your choice of words made me giggle but I'm trying my best to get them to have a massive snog fest, haha!)_, and Kittlet (_I'm glad you took the time to read my story and that you like it! Interesting… I think you're right and you're wrong about Tiff. She is an emotional mess but you're right even before that she did have a lot of boyfriends. Here's my take, I'm no psychologist, but Tiffany's primary figure in her life was her father because her mother left her as a baby so it's only natural I think that Tiffany would be a little more attached to men than most people. Maybe she's still a floozy… I don't know, but thanks for bringing that up_.)


	31. Watch Out It Bites

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Don't sue me, I can only take some credit for the insane events of this story and the crazy, ridiculous antics of the characters because I'm fairly certain J.K Rowling would never write anything this weird. _

**Summary**_: _Grace drags Lily to a party in the Slytherin Common Room and Lily gets stopped at the door by Mulciber and Wilkes. After walking in on "Zabini" and Tiffany in what looks like a snogging session, "Zabini" offers to take Lily. Tiffany confounds Mulciber and "Zabini" and Lily escape from Wilkes. Lily attacks "Zabini" before discovering that it's really James and that he took polyjuice potion to look like Zabini. Sirius arrives, dragging an intoxicated Grace with him and they hatch a plan for revenge by making it look like Zabini, Wilkes and Selwynn (an ugly and cruel Slytherin girl) all slept together. McLaggen discovers them at the end and blackmail photos are already being sold. Grace and Lily are about to leave when Lily turns back to find James. She thanks him when he gives her back her cloak, but the chapter ends with him returning to his friends and kissing Tiffany.

**A/N: **Thanks for reviewing!! You guys rock! This story reached 100,000 hits so thanks! And just a heads up I had to split this chapter in two parts so please don't hate me at the end of this chapter because I'm saving the good scene for the next one. Still, I hope you still enjoy this chapter because it is important.

**Chapter 30**: **Watch Out It Bites**

"My head feels like it's going to explode," Grace moans, resting her head on her unfinished Potion's essay.

The two of us are sitting at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room. Behind us I can hear the distracting sounds of Hope and Tiffany giggling at something that Sirius and James just said. I grit my teeth and try to tune out the irritating sound of Tiffany's laughter by focusing on my essay and my hung over best friend.

"No one forced you to drink," I remind her, crossing out and rewriting a line of my own essay.

"Smith made me do it," Grace grumbles, sitting up suddenly.

"What?" I ask, losing my train of thought and pausing in the middle of the concluding sentence.

"Hannah Smith," Grace spits out the name as if it is a bad taste in her mouth, throwing a meaningful glare over her shoulder where the girl sits innocently between Sirius and Tiffany (who I try not to notice is practically sitting in James's lap). I raise my eyebrows wondering what her mother could possibly have had to do with this. "She challenged us all to a drinking game and I wasn't about to let her win."

"I take it you lost." I smirk, noticing that Grace's cheek is streaked with ink and that the one introductory paragraph that she had written is now smudged.

"I would have won if I had stayed but then I saw Sirius and I got side tracked…" she trails off, her cheeks flushing. I snort and she gives me a fierce warning glare. I clear my throat, hastily switching to a safer subject.

"Grace, your-" I point to her ruined essay.

"I see it, Lily," Grace interrupts me, picking up her Just-Like-Magic Eraser and applying it to the smudges. I open my mouth to tell her about her cheek, but Grace isn't finished yet.

"I don't like her," she tells me flat out.

"Why?" I inquire, immediately abandoning my essay and giving her my full attention. "Is it because she keeps hanging around with Sirius?" I ask, slyly.

"No!" Grace answers quickly, too quickly. She blushes confirming that she is in fact jealous that another girl (even if said girl is her mother) seems to be moving in on Sirius.

"Well, yes," she admits, reluctantly. "I don't like her because any girl that hangs around with the likes of _him _should be in St. Mungos insanity ward." I have to restrain myself from pointing out that Grace herself falls into that category especially after the confession she made to me last night.

"But besides that, don't you find it just a little bit strange that she's only been here a month and yet it's like she's always been here? Doesn't it bother you at all that we know absolutely nothing about her? It seems like she came out of nowhere and yet no one cares," she grumbles, narrowing her eyes and rubbing the parchment vigorously with the eraser.

"For Merlin's sake she spent the first two weeks she was here in the hospital wing with some mysterious illness and then she poisons Professor Binns. I don't care what anyone else says, there's definitely something wrong with that girl!" she exclaims, rubbing so hard at her essay that it rips and tears down the middle.

"Don't be ridiculous, Grace, that was just a rumor," I tell her dismissively but I pick up my essay to hide the nervous twitch of my hand.

"No, it's not," Grace insists, examining the damaged essay to see if it's worth salvaging. "I heard it from someone that was there when it happened."

"Who? Debbie? Don't tell me that you believe a word that comes out of her big fat mouth," I say disbelievingly.

"Not Debbie," Grace snaps, trying to piece her essay back together. "Keith Abbot broke his arm that day and heard the whole thing. She admitted to killing old Binns and was screaming like a maniac."

Crap. I had forgotten that Grace's ex boyfriend had been among the small group of injured quidditch players that had been in the infirmary at the time, along with Debbie, Rohan, Ophelia, Hope, and I.

"She did not kill him," I tell her, firmly.

"Keith swears that she did," Grace persists, unwilling to let it drop.

"Well, Keith is wrong," I argue, pointing my wand at the torn parchment to repair it.

"I think she's a Death Eater," she blurts out suddenly. My aim goes awry and her essay bursts into flames. It curls in on itself, swallowed up by the blackness. I jerk my arm away and the flames vanish, revealing what's left of her essay – a pile of ashes. My hands are shaking but fortunately Grace doesn't appear to be mourning the loss of her essay.

"It makes sense, Lily," she explains, clearly having given this ridiculous idea some real thought. "She came to Hogwarts the same day that you were attacked on the train. She stays in the Hospital Wing waiting for her chance to finish the job off, and then Binns comes along and BANG she kills him instead."

"Grace! Don't say that!" I admonish her, trying my best to hide the fact that I'm badly shaken by this theory of hers. Not only does she not get along with her own mother but now she thinks she's a Death Eater? "You know it's not true!"

"How do you know?" Grace asks me, glaring at the ash pile as if it might suddenly become her whole essay again and write itself if she stares hard enough.

"I know that she's not a Death Eater because she's your m-"

"WATCH OUT!" a voice shouts behind us. Grace and I both whip around, just in time to see -

_SMACK_!

The flying book crashes into Grace's forehead so hard that she loses her balance and falls out of her chair. I gasp and drop down beside her, anxiously asking if she's okay. Grace ignores me, swearing profusely as she touches her forehead gingerly and sits up.

"Gracie, are you alright?" I ask again, as a few of our fellow Gryffindors crowd around us, curious and concerned.

"As if my head didn't hurt enough already," Grace mutters under her breath, abruptly lurching forward. She reaches around me to grab something off of the floor. She pulls back, holding the book that struck her between her hands. I feel her grab my arm, as she gets to her feet, pulling me with her.

"Whoever threw this book at us better come forward before I hurt someone!" she threatens, holding the leather bound book up over her head.

The crowd backs away from her as she steps into the center of the common room, dragging me along. It's so quiet that I can hear the sound of their soft footsteps as everyone quietly shuffles away to couches and chairs and attempts to discreetly head for the portrait hole or the sanctuary of the dormitories. The bold and brave Gryffindors are unusually cowardly under the fierce flashing gaze of my best friend.

Only one person in the room is not intimidated, and it's because I know that Gracie inherited that same look from her. Hope giggles loudly, causing every pair of eyes present to snap to her. Perched on the couch beside her, Tiffany elbows Hope, silently telling her to shut up, but it's too late. Grace has already honed in on her and is halfway across the room.

"_You_!" she hisses, wielding the book like a weapon. She probably would have brought it crashing down on her mother's head if I hadn't grabbed her arm and prevented her.

"Don't look at me," Hope laughs, throwing her hands up in front of her. "I didn't throw that thing at you."

Tiffany's eyes nervously dart toward the back of the couch, and Hope gestures in the same direction as she leans forward and whispers loudly in a conspiring tone, "They're hiding behind the couch."

"Hannah!" a chorus of voices groan as Tiffany hides her eyes and Sirius and James surface from behind the couch.

"I should have known," I sigh as the two pranksters appear.

Sirius is as white as a ghost, and his charming grin just isn't going to cut it this time. James on the other hand…

"Hello, sweet cousin of mine," James chirps, looking surprisingly cheerful in the face of his cousin's infamous wrath. He boldly winks at me, leaping over the back of the couch. Hope rolls her eyes and Tiffany squeaks as he squeezes in between them and wraps his arms around both girls.

"Don't think that I'm finished with you three!" Grace growls. James nervously tightens his hold on the two girls, and Tiffany fearfully snuggles closer to him. I feel a growl of my own rising in my throat, as I lift my wand but a sudden movement to my left distracts me.

"BLACK!" Grace yells, racing toward the portrait where the blur suddenly comes to a halt. She corners Sirius just as he's about to make his escape. "Where do you think you're going?!" she demands.

"Out for some fresh air, beautiful," Sirius offers hesitantly, with a weak grin as he sidles toward the portrait. Grace arrests his movement, stepping closer with an aura of ferocity that's almost palpable.

"You're going nowhere until you tell me why you threw this book at me!" she informs him angrily, violently waving the book around in his face.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, it just jumped out of my hands – OW!" Sirius cries out as Grace whacks him with the book with an audible SMACK!

"Is that so?" Grace inquires sarcastically. "I suppose it was just an accident."

"It _was_ an accident – OUCH!" he cringes in pain, backed awkwardly into a corner he throws his hands up helplessly in front of him. "Merlin's baggy Y front, you're hurting me you crazy – MERLIN, would you just listen, the book has a mind of its own and I didn't mean to - _OW_!" Sirius ducks, covering his head with his hands as Grace hits him with another loud THUMP!

"Gracie, stop!" I yell at her, grabbing her arm before she can hit him again with the heavy book and give him a concussion. James and the girls get up from the couch and rush over to us. James grabs her other arm, allowing me to wrestle the book out of her grasp as Hope and Tiffany haul Sirius to his feet.

Sirius immediately seizes his chance and tears out of the room. Grace shakes James off and barrels past us.

"YOU'RE DEAD BLACK!" she hollers, diving through the portrait and racing after him. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

I can hear her shouts echoing down the corridor, long after the portrait slams shut behind them. I turn to look at the other three. Hope is stunned.

"She's not really going to kill him, is she?" she asks fearfully in a tiny voice. "I disarmed her, but he's not going to have to hurt her, is he?" she continues nervously, holding up the wand in her hand which I recognize as Grace's. She must have summoned it when none of us were paying attention.

"Don't worry," I reassure her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This happens all the time. They're not going to hurt each other, at least not too badly…" I trail off thinking of the last time this happened and how Grace would have done something drastic to Sirius if James and I hadn't been there to intervene. James meets my eyes and seems to be recalling the same incident.

"I should probably go save Sirius," he says, inhaling sharply as if it's the last thing he wants to do right now.

"I'll come with you!" Hope immediately offers. I don't think that she's completely convinced that Grace won't kill Sirius or seriously injure herself trying to murder him. James smiles and holds the portrait open for her.

"I'll see you later," he says to us.

"Bye." Tiffany tugs on his arm and standing on tiptoe quickly pecks him on the cheek. I pointedly look away, unable to watch this disgustingly cute affectionate action.

The portrait shuts behind them and I find myself awkwardly facing Tiffany alone for the first time in weeks. Ever since James had asked Tiffany out I had been carefully avoiding her and it hadn't been difficult considering that I rarely went anywhere without Grace and Tiffany had become instant friends with Hope and was never far from James or any of the other Marauders, much to my chagrin.

"Want to go grab some lunch?" Tiffany asks me with a hopeful smile.

I open my mouth to refuse with a well practiced excuse about homework, but my traitorous stomach growls. The truth is that I'm starving and Tiffany now knows it too.

"Come on," she says, leaving me with no other choice but to join her. Reluctantly, I return to the table where Grace and I had been working and shove everything into my bag. Hesitating for a moment, I pick up the leather bound book that Sirius threw at us.

_An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry_, I read the title on the cracked spine and shake my head. What in the world was Sirius doing with a book like that? He definitely wasn't reading it, that's for sure. I put it in my bag with the rest of my things, making a mental note to return it to Remus (the only other person I could think of that might have read such a book in Sirius's proximity). I meet Tiffany at the portrait hole and we start toward the Great Hall in an unusually uncomfortable silence.

"Remember that time last year when Grace got so mad that she chased Sirius into the lake?" Tiffany recalls fondly, breaking the silence.

I find myself grinning as I remember the same memory from somewhere at the end of our Fifth Year.

"He set off hundreds of dung bombs in the common room where we were trying to study for our Potions exam," I remember, finding it funny now that I can see it in retrospect though it was anything but humorous at the time.

"And the common room reeked like dung for days," Tiffany giggles.

"We couldn't get the smell out of our hair and Grace was so made because she had a date with Keith Abbot that night and he wouldn't come near her," I laugh. "She gave him hell for that and I don't think that she and Keith ever made up after that."

"And I was so mad that I broke up with Sirius too and wouldn't talk to him for a week," Tiffany continues. "But it was so worth it watching Grace push him in the water!"

Tiffany and I double over laughing, as we recall the shocked expression on Sirius's face as Grace pushed him in. He came up spluttering and choking and Grace jumped in after him and nearly drowned him when she found out he was faking it.

By the time we reach the Great Hall, Tiffany and I are clutching our sides and still chortling, having relived several of our favorite Grace versus Sirius moments. I sit down at the Gryffindor table and Tiffany takes her regular seat across from me.

"And how about that time when Grace found out that Sirius and James wanted to make Chris a Marauder," I begin, launching into yet another one of my favorite memories.

Tiffany stops laughing and sobers abruptly. I choke on my laughter as I realize why. Gracie's little brother Chris had been killed by Death Eaters back in September with her father. They were the same Death Eaters that had murdered Tiffany's father last month…

I clear my throat and hastily fill my plate, trying to look anywhere except at Tiffany.

"I wonder when it stops," Tiffany says softly, examining her empty plate.

"What?" I ask, curiously.

Tiffany lifts her eyes and I see the unbearable sadness in them that makes me want to tear my eyes away as guilt fills my stomach. She places a hand over her heart, tapping it gently.

"I wonder if it ever stops hurting. Did Grace ever stop missing Chris and her parents? Does she still look for Chris in the halls or think that perhaps he's at another school or simply at home? Does she write letters to her parents before she realizes that they'll never receive them? Does she ever think of home and then remember that she no longer has one…" Tiffany trails off, her eyes far away and I know she's not thinking about Grace but herself and the father and the home that she lost.

"I'm sure it gets better with time…" I stop because I know there's nothing I can say to her that will make her feel better. So I simply take her plate and busy myself putting something on it that I know from experience she likes.

"Thanks," Tiffany says giving me a small smile, as I replace it in front of her. She picks up her fork, pushing her food around on her plate.

"You know I thought I'd never be able to be happy again," she says, slowly. "And then one day James said something or perhaps it was Remus and I laughed and I couldn't stop laughing," she continues quietly with the tiniest of smiles on her face. "I felt guilty at first, because Dad had just died, but then I don't know… It was almost like Dad had sent them to me to make me laugh again, if that makes any sense?" she looks up at me and laughs nervously. "I love being around the Marauders because they can make you laugh so hard that you're able to just forget about everything… But I'm not forgetting, I'm just…"

"There's nothing wrong with being happy," I interrupt her, softly. "And if the Marauders are able to make you happy then there's nothing wrong with that. Your father would have wanted you to be happy," I tell her, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand.

"I know," Tiffany says with a shaky smile, squeezing my hand back. "James told me that too."

"Well, he's right." I smile and let go. Tiffany picks up her fork again and twirls it around with a thoughtful expression.

"Lily, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away," I tell her. I take a sip from my goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Do you have feelings for James?"

I choke and spit my juice back out. I wipe my face as the juice dribbles down my chin and cough into my napkin.

"Are you okay?" Tiffany asks me worriedly.

"Fine," I answer hoarsely, taking deep breaths. "Why would you think that I have feelings for James?" I ask her in an unnaturally high voice.

"Oh, it's silly," Tiffany says, blushing. "You've told us a hundred times how you'd rather go out with the Giant Squid but lately you've been acting really strange around him and if I didn't know any better I might have thought-"

A breathy laugh escapes me and Tiffany laughs too.

"It's stupid, I know," she says amusedly shaking her head and giving me an embarrassed smile. "You've made it clear that he's the last person on earth you'd want to date. I don't know why I thought that you might fancy him, but you'd tell me if you did, wouldn't you, Lily?" she presses, anxiously looking up at me with wide serious eyes.

A part of me wants to strangle Tiffany until the air leaves her lungs and her face turns blue. Of course I fancy him, you idiotic dolt! But another voice in my mind, the voice of my conscious is reminding me that I didn't realize that I fancied James until the moment Tiffany agreed to go out with him. And that same voice is reminding me of the conversation that Tiffany and I just had. The Marauders make her happy. Only now I can read between the lines and see what I missed the first time. James makes her happy. She needs him right now and if I were to take that away from her I could never live with myself.

"Of course I would tell you, Tiffany," I reassure her. "But I don't fancy him," I lie.

"Good, because I would feel terrible if you did. I'd break up with him-"

"But you do like him, don't you?" I interrupt her, wondering if maybe she really doesn't like him and she is going to break up with him.

Tiffany gives me a wide smile and blushes once again. I haven't even heard her response and already my hopes are deflating and my heart's cracking all over again.

"Yea, I like him a lot. He was the first guy I ever dated, my first love and I guess it's true that you never forget your first love," she confesses romantically.

Aw, how sweet. Now, where's the nearest trash bin so I can throw up what little I've been able to eat. My appetite is completely gone but I force myself to eat because it's the only distraction I can find.

"So, what's this I hear about Rohan Corner?" Tiffany inquires, grinning.

"Rohan? What about him?" I respond halfheartedly, trying to stuff as much food as possible into my mouth so that I'll have an excuse not to talk to her. If she mentions James one more time I might throw something at her.

"Well, I hear you've been having study dates with him in the library and that he really likes-"

Something clicks in my mind and suddenly I remember that I did in fact have a study date with Rohan, for this morning…

"Oh, no!" I gasp, dropping my fork. "What time is it?"

Tiffany stands up from the table and calls out to Frank and Alice who just entered the Great Hall and are approaching us. Frank glances at his watch and informs us that it's half past twelve.

"Crap!" I groan, slapping my forehead. "I was supposed to meet Rohan in the library over an hour ago!" I realize, guiltily.

"It's okay, I'm sure he'll understand," Tiffany says quickly, exchanging a knowing grin with Alice who sits down beside her.

"That's not the point!" I snap. I hate breaking appointments and I usually don't forget things like this. It's not like me. I need to stop thinking about James and why in Merlin's name he's dating Tiffany and not me. I push aside my plate, grab my book bag, and wave goodbye to Frank, Alice and Tiffany.

"Have fun!" I hear Tiffany and Alice shout just before I turn and dash off to the library.

I arrive at the library several minutes later panting and holding a stitch in my side. As I attempt to catch my breath, I spot Rohan's close friend Ophelia in an obnoxiously bright yellow jumper that hurts my eyes but seems to fit her odd personality perfectly. She looks up as I make my way over to her and smiles.

"I like your sweater," I compliment her, trying to make up for the fact that I just stood her best mate up.

"Thanks, Xenophilius gave it to me," she answers, referring to her fiancé and glancing down at her engagement ring with a stupid love struck grin.

Merlin, what is it with everyone today? First Tiffany and James are snuggling and being nauseatingly romantic, then Grace goes wild with jealousy and is probably murdering Sirius or perhaps her mother as we speak, and now even the odd but serene Ophelia is acting like a silly school girl with her first crush.

"Is Rohan here?" I ask.

Ophelia doesn't answer me because she's long gone and far away on planet Lovegood. I sigh, knowing that I've lost her. I pull out the chair across from her and slump down in my seat. Pawing through my bag, I grab the first book I find and throw it on the table.

"Doing some light reading?" an amused voice inquires. Before I can reply, a hand reaches down and snatches the book from me. I look up to find Rohan Corner holding it as he examines the title.

"_An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry_," he reads out loud. Of all the stuff I had in my bag I had picked out the one thing that had nothing to do with school work and didn't even belong to me.

"Not really my type of book, but I'm sure it's a very enjoyable read," Rohan says, sparing me a smile as he opens it up to a random page. He begins reading, "Legend says that the weapon's still in existence and one document claims that it was hidden by one of the heirs deep within the depths of the dead – Hmmm, could be interesting though I never had much of a stomach for myths since I'm more of a man of facts – _Ouch_!" The book slams shut on his fingers and Rohan steps back, wrenching his hand free. It jumps out of his hands, bounces off the table, narrowly misses Ophelia's head, and finally lands on the floor somewhere behind her.

I gape at the spot where the book vanished and then turn back to look at Rohan who's sucking on one of his fingers.

"It bit me," he explains, showing me the bloody finger as he wraps it in a handkerchief he draws from his pocket.

"You poor baby," Ophelia teases as she picks the book up off the floor.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, feeling even worse now than I did before. First I forget about our study "date" and then I bring a book that attacks him. He must hate me.

"He'll be fine," Ophelia answers for him, turning the book over in her hands. "It was only a defensive jinx. Lots of wizards and witches put them on their personal items so that they won't be stolen or opened. I'm sure you're aware that Madam Pince put several similar spells on many of the more dangerous books in the Restricted Section. When Rohan opened the book he must have triggered the hex and-" she stops abruptly in mid-sentence, staring down at the book as if seeing it for the first time.

"Where did you get this?" she asks, lowering her voice significantly.

"Sirius," I answer automatically, guiltily realizing that he had been telling the truth when he said that it had been an accident and that the book had a mind of its own. Grace had got mad at him for no reason at all. "It's Remus's though… I think," I add, having serious doubts now that I see the strange look on Ophelia's face. I clear my throat uneasily.

"I should probably return it to him."

"Make sure he takes better care of his things in the future. If he's not careful something might fall into the wrong hands," she warns me cryptically before dropping it back on the table in front of me.

The book falls open at a random page and trembles violently when I try to close it. This time we're prepared and Rohan ducks just in time as it leaps off the table. It smacks into the bookshelf behind him and noisily knocks several books off the shelf.

"Sorry!" I apologize but my voice comes out much louder than I anticipated. A group of Fifth Year Ravenclaws at a table nearby turn around and glare at me. I cringe and whisper "Sorry" again as I pick up the traitorous book. But it's a little late for sorry.

"My books!" Madam Pince, the obsessive bibliophile librarian comes out of the wood work, clutching her heart as if it's just been broken. "What have you done to my precious books!?"

Ophelia silently disappears before Madam Pince snaps out of her state of shock and decides to blow us all up. Rohan wisely shushes me before I can admit to being responsible for the mess and the damage done to her precious books. (Even if it was the book's fault and not my own). He shoulders both of our book bags and drags me from the library before Madam Pince notices us.

"I'm sorry," I apologize again as soon as we're outside and he hands me back my book bag.

"It's not your fault," Rohan laughs. "Besides I think I needed a break from all that studying before my brain exploded."

"About that," I begin, nervously looking up at him. "I completely forgot that I was supposed to meet you at the library until I went to lunch and someone mentioned you and then I remembered and I feel awful-"

"Don't apologize," Rohan interrupts me, smiling. "Ophelia and I needed to get some N.E.W.T. studying done anyway."

"Oh, okay," I reply, feeling much better now that I know he's not angry with me.

"Hey," Rohan says suddenly, touching my arm. "Do you want to have lunch with me?"

"I actually just ate," I remind him.

"Right. You just told me that," Rohan chuckles, fiddling with the strap of his book bag.

"Maybe some other time," I offer politely.

"Yea, perhaps we could have lunch together next weekend," Rohan suggests. "At the Three Broomsticks, maybe?" he asks hesitantly, smiling shyly at me.

"Are you asking me to go on a date with you?" I ask, jokingly.

"Is it that obvious?" Rohan quips, nervously wiping his brow.

He's asking me out, I realize stumbling to a halt. I don't believe it. He really is asking me out this time. Rohan stops too, worriedly playing with strap of his book bag again. It's kind of cute to see how nervous he is but at the same time I can't help but think of the last hundred times I was asked out by a handsome boy over brimming with confidence and a sly mischievous grin. In fact I can't remember anyone ever asking me out except James. Of course I had heard through Tiffany and Grace that other boys had taken a fancy to me but they never surfaced. I highly suspect that it was because James had threatened them. Well, I don't have that problem any more since he's moved on to Tiffany. The thought of Tiffany and James makes me grind my teeth and if I wasn't sure how to answer before, I am now.

"I realize that you probably already have plans," Rohan babbles anxiously, staring down at his shoes. I must have tuned him out. "But I just figured I'd ask, in case you didn't-"

"Okay," I finally answer.

"What?" Rohan asks, raising his dark gentle eyes to mine. He has nice eyes, not as nice as James's and very different, but maybe that's why I kind of like them.

"I'd like that," I repeat, tucking my hair behind my ears and smiling shyly.

Rohan's whole face lights up when he smiles like a little kid. It's cute. I wonder why I never noticed him before. He's brilliant, kind, humble and a gentleman. The ideal guy. And it certainly helps that he's tall, dark, and handsome. He's taller than James but he's not quite as handsome – wait, why do I keep comparing him to James?

"So, Saturday okay? Do you want to meet here or in Hogsmeade? Because it's up to you…" Rohan looks at me worriedly.

"Um, perhaps we can just meet at the Three Broomsticks at noon?" I suggest.

"Alright, that works for me," Rohan agrees, nodding. "So, I guess I'll see you Saturday, not that I don't want to see you before then-" he fumbles over his words, causing me to laugh because it's kind of adorable to think that I have this effect on him.

"I'll see you around, Rohan," I tell him, turning to go with a smile.

"Okay, bye." He leans forward, nearly tripping over his own feet as he stumbles into me. I laugh again, only to be cut off when he clumsily plants his lips on mine. He pulls away almost immediately, extremely embarrassed.

"Sorry, I meant to kiss your cheek, I didn't mean to, well I did, but -" he stammers out an apology and I swear that he's blushing harder than I am.

"It's okay," I cut him off, though I'm still trying to make sense of this.

"Good, I'll uh catch you up later then. Bye!" He waves to me and runs right into a suit of armor with a loud crashing noise. I wince but he appears to have damaged nothing but his pride.

"I'm fine!" he assures me.

I watch as he readjusts his book bag and walks away with his head down. I should probably go after him, but I'm afraid he might end up fatally injuring himself. Who knew the famously calm and reasonable Rohan Corner could get so nervous about a date with a girl? I shake my head amusedly, wondering what I just got myself into.

Someone chuckles beside me and I look up to find Remus Lupin standing there.

"Wow, Rohan Corner is quite the klutz. After almost seven years here you'd think that he'd at least know where the suits of armor were located and know not to walk into them. Then again it looked like he was a tad distracted…" he trails off, allowing his eyes to travel to me.

"Shut up!" I snap, blushing furiously.

Remus laughs and I start to walk away from him until I suddenly remember that I still have his cursed book. I reach in to my bag and dig it out.

"Here!" I shove the book into his chest. "I think this is yours."

Remus blinks confusedly at the book and then me, but reflexively catches the book when I let go of it. He glances over it and then shakes his head.

"Er, thanks, Lily, but this isn't mine," he says, politely handing it back to me.

"Don't tell me it's Sirius's!" I exclaim, shocked by the concept of Sirius reading. It's not that Sirius isn't intelligent, because I'm sure he is. From what I know of him though, he just doesn't strike me as the kind of person that would sit down and read a book for pleasure.

"Merlin's beard, no!" Remus chuckles again. "James nicked it from the Slytherin dormitories last night. They thought it was Zabini's Potion's textbook and thought it'd be a good laugh if they could get a hold of his Potion's essay and copy it. I'd be careful with it though. It zapped Sirius this morning. Serves him right for trying to cheat." Remus grins and hopelessly shakes his head at the antics of his marauding friends.

"Aren't you going to give it back to Zabini?" I ask, still holding it out to him.

"Nah, it's probably just a library book. Hey, why don't you keep it and maybe if you hang on to it long enough Zabini will get a huge fine," he jokes.

Suddenly, Ophelia's sage advice echoes in my mind.

"_Make sure he takes better care of his things in the future. If he's not careful something might fall into the wrong hands."_

"I think I will," I decide, putting it back into my bag for safekeeping.

A small part of me feels guilty about stealing the book, but I can almost see the strange expression on Ophelia's face that seemed to speak louder than her words. For some weird reason Ophelia wanted me to hold on to this book, and though there's a good chance she's just crazy, I've learned to trust her instincts.

So I guess that Zabini isn't getting his book back, at least not until I figure out why he felt it was important enough to put a complex defense jinx on it in the first place.

* * *

**A/N**: I know I should not have left it like that but before you all growl at me I needed to explain Tiffany's behavior and I couldn't just leave the whole Rohan thing hanging and of course there was a plot appearance. My intention was to put other stuff in this chapter including an L/J scene that I've been planning for a very long time but I've decided to split it into two parts so the next chapter will be better I promise, just hang in there. Sorry guys I got to go away for one amazing week and now the hell that is school is once again taking over my life. If I didn't respond to your review I apologize. I kind of sporadically answered them and forgot which ones I had answered and which ones I hadn't etc… Thanks also Bittersweet (_its damsel in distress and knight in shining armor, though your English is still impressively good. Yea, I thought it would be too cliché but then I also thought that all the James lovers would kill me so I compromised. Glad you liked Sirius and Grace and won't miss Snape_), Fishponysrock, Tracy, Bahado, DiZd, Lorenne, Shscheergirl20 (_if you think this is the best L/J story out there then you're not reading the right ones! You printed out the whole thing, omg that must have been a lot of paper. Yea school's stressful, good luck with that!_) and Kittlet (_I hope the Tiffany scene in this chapter helped explain her character more fully and that it wasn't too over the top? Thanks for the insight!). _Please read and review. Constructive criticism is helpful and I promise the next chapter will be better. I'm shooting for the first week in April so keep your fingers crossed.


	32. Stupid Cupid

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **_Everything belongs to the lovely Ms. Rowling._

**COMPLETE SUMMARY: FEEL FREE TO SKIP OVER (ITS DIVIDED INTO PARTS 1-10, 10-20, 20-26 AND 26-30 TO MAKE IT EASIER)**

**Summary of 1-10: Lily flashes back to the start of her sixth year. On September 1st, Lily's best friend Grace Adams and Grace's cousin James Potter show up at her house to unexpectedly take Lily back with them to Grace's house. Grace receives a letter informing her that her house was attacked and her family murdered. The Wizarding World goes into lockdown trapping Lily, James and Grace at her home. Then the floo opens back up but Lily is left behind and attacked by Death Eaters who come looking for presumably Gracie. James comes back to rescue her and takes her to his home. Lily and James encounter a mysterious child who turns out to be Gracie's mother who's body was never located and survived the attack but at the price of her memory and a curse that left her a child. They return to school and the child that Grace tries to smuggle in is left with James's parents, who realize it's Hope and try to help restore her memory and body. **

**Summary of 10-20: Lily is not allowed to return home for fear of endangering her family since her house was attacked. She goes to spend Christmas at the Potters house. The crazy Ravenclaw Ophelia reveals that she thinks Hope's coffin is empty (which it was) and that she is still alive (which she is). Grace believes her, and drags Lily, James, and Sirius into the family mausoleum to check and see if it's true. Lily finds a body in it but not Hope's. Lily and Sirius disturb the tomb with their presence and awaken a statue that tries to kill them and leaves them trapped until Hope, now in teenage form and still living at the Potter house with only half her memories, lets them out after receiving an owl from Tiffany who was contacted through the mirror Remus should have been carrying. There was an attack at the annual yule tide ball that left Tiffany's father dead and revealed the Death Eaters to the Wizarding World. Lily and James once again encounter Hope, this time as a teenager and one that reveals her true identity. The Potters realize Lily and James have stumbled upon their secret and decide to send Hope to Hogwarts where she will be safer and be more apt to retrieve the necessary memories, under the protection of Dumbledore and Lily and James. Lily and James share their first kiss under some mistletoe, the boys forgot about. James's mother discovers them in another interesting position and jumps to the conclusion that they are sleeping together. James doesn't argue with his mother and reveals to Lily that he and Grace had to tell her that she was promised to James in order to allow her to stay with them for the Holidays. Lily is furious and gets upset with Gracie when she finally corners her in a compartment. The compartment is attacked and Lily is nearly killed. **

**Summary of 20-25: Ophelia and her friend Rohan save Lily's life and she wakes up in the hospital wing nearly two weeks later with Hope watching over her under James's strict instructions. James and Lily have another encounter in which Lily refuses to go out with him for what seems like the last time. Lily sneaks out of the hospital wing and hears Alice trying to convince Grace to help her hook up Tiffany with James. Grace discovers Lily eavesdropping and explains everything to her, how the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in the world and how they targeted her parents because of their outspokenness and the fact that her mother was in possession of a deadly secret concerning the location of a powerful weapon the Death Eaters want, and that this secret was passed onto James's mother. Frank alerts them that the Minister of Magic is being chosen and Slytherins and Gryffindors alike watch as Tiffany's despicable mother announces that their hated room mate, Debbie McLaggen's father was chosen for Minister, a choice that the Slytherins are thrilled with. A fight ensues between Gryffindors and Slytherins when Tiffany attacks Debbie when Zambini dumps her for Debbie. Lily takes the injured Tiffany's wand but is disarmed in the attack by Rohan and Ophelia trying to break up the fight. She's stunned and loses consciousness. **

**Summary of 26-29: Lily wakes up in the hospital wing again and fights with James because she hears he comforted Tiffany and she's secretly jealous. Rohan and Ophelia visit and Hope is introduced as Hannah Smith. Professor Binns is found dead, and Hope thinks she murdered him because she gave him an overdose of her dreamless sleeping potion. James invites Lily to a broomcloset Binn's ghost insists on teaching forever. Rumors spread. Rohan gets Lily and Hope released from the hospital wing and offers to tutor Lily. Grace hears rumor that Lily and Rohan are dating. Lily misunderstands and announces to the entire common room that she doesn't like James right after she figures out that she does in fact fancy him. James asks Tiffany out in front of Lily. Grace dresses up and drags a moping Lily to McLaggen's party in the Slytherin Common Room in an effort to get back at James. Sirius figures out who Hope is. Grace doesn't like Hope at all. Lily nearly gets raped by Slytherins Wilkes and Mulciber. Zabini, who turns out to be James (with polyjuice), rescues her and reveals his real identity after she beats him up. Sirius and Grace join them and Lily helps them prank the Slytherins by making it look like Zabini, Wilkes, and ugly Slytherin girl Selwynn slept together. Grace confesses that she wants to shag Sirius when she's drunk. Tiffany and James are officially together. **

**Summary of Last Chapter: Grace decides that Hannah's evil because she's getting too close to Sirius. Sirius throws a book at Grace. Grace gets angry and chases him. Lily and Tiffany have a discussion about James. Tiffany confesses she needs him and fancies him a lot and Lily lies and says she doesn't. Lily meets Rohan and Ophelia in the library. Rohan gets bitten by Sirius's book and Ophelia explains that it's a defensive jinx to prevent people from opening it. Madam Pince throws them out. Rohan nervously asks Lily to Hogsmeade and she agrees. Remus laughs at Rohan's klutziness and reveals that the book belongs to Zabini and that James and Sirius nicked it from the Slytherin dormitories thinking it was a Potions book and they could copy his homework. Taking Ophelia's advice, Lily decides to keep the book.**

**A/N**: Again, I apologize that this is so late. The first half of this chapter was done back in March but school and all the papers and finals I had got in the way. But now I have the whole summer to hopefully finish this monstrous novel length fanfiction! Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me this far.

**WARNING THIS CHAPTER IS 12,500 WORDS. NORMALLY I WRITE 6,000 WORDS SO THIS CHAPTER IS VERY LONG. Okay, you've been warned. Sorry, I figured I'd get eaten alive if I tried to break this novel of a chapter in two. So for those of you that hate long chapters or get tired eyes like I do sometimes, take breaks when you're reading it, have a snack, take a nap, whatever. And once again I sincerely hope this makes up for the delay. I promised you April, but school got in the way, so here we go. There are parts of this chapter that suck because I had to struggle to get back into the swing of writing, and it shows but I hope I didn't do too bad. First half is kind of boring but the second half is good I promise!! **

* * *

**Chapter 31**: **Stupid Cupid**

I lean against the cold window pane in my dormitory, trying to focus on the book opened in my lap. A week has passed since the day that Rohan asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him and in a few short hours I would be going with him on my first official date. Nervous and excited, I got up early intending to get as much work as possible done before I had to get ready. With Rohan, Ophelia, and Grace's help I had managed to catch up on everything that I missed in those two weeks that I spent in the Infirmary, and I was finally back to being the top student, but I was going to have to work extra hard if I wanted to keep it that way and make Head Girl next year.

For the past ten minutes though I had been staring at the same page, reading the same paragraph over and over again. The problem was that Hope had just come back from breakfast, and that Grace was finally awake. Grace had been moody all week. She hadn't said a word to Sirius or Hope ever since the book incident last weekend. Hope too had been unusually irritated and annoyed ever since that day. I had felt the storm building for days but the moment that the increasingly neater and organized Hope walked in and noticed that Grace's dirty, stinky quidditch robes had been deliberately thrown on her bed, I knew it had finally arrived and that the storm clouds were about to burst.

"Stop throwing your crap on my bed!" Hope hisses, dumping Grace's smelly quidditch robe on to the floor at her feet. I mark my page and massage my forehead knowing that this won't end well. Still, I'm determined not to get involved. This isn't my fight and perhaps if they can just get it out I can finally figure out what's been eating them and attempt to help them resolve it.

"Oops, sorry," Grace says, grinning and not looking sorry at all. In fact she leaves the robes where Hope dropped them, kicking them away from her feet and closer to Hope's neatly organized area.

"That's it!" Hope explodes, balling her fists and facing her daughter with flashing eyes. The resemblance between the two is eerie, and I wonder why I'm the only one that notices. "I've had enough of your games. I've tried to deal with this for weeks in a rational and mature way, but if you put one more thing on my bed I'll hex you! You're such a slob, and I'm sick of putting up with it!"

"If you have a problem with where I put my things then go sleep somewhere else," Grace responds snidely.

"Maybe I will!" Hope snaps.

A flash of smug triumph crosses Grace's face, and it occurs to me suddenly that this was Gracie's plan all along. She's been acting like a complete slob on purpose, throwing her things everywhere (particularly in Hope's area), creating a mess, and doing her best to keep it that way. She must have noticed, like I had, that Hope still clung to that obsessive cleaning streak that seemed to be inherent in all mothers because unfortunately she was doing a brilliant job of pissing her off by exploiting it.

"Or perhaps you could just go back to where you came from…" Grace suggests, cruelly.

Hope's eyes flash dangerously as she steps toward Grace with a low growl. I abandon my comfortable perch on the windowsill and my promise not to interfere, and step between the pair before someone gets killed.

"GRACE!" I admonish her, narrowing my eyes. "Apologize," I order her.

"Sorry, but I'm just stating the truth," she insists, shrugging.

"I wish I could go back," Hope snarls, glaring down at Gracie as she struggles to keep her emotions in check. "In fact I'd rather live in the Boy's Dormitory with the Marauders than in this pigsty you've created. It's a wonder we're still breathing because your clothes stink so bad that I wouldn't doubt that you rolled around in a pile of dung and then decided not to wash them for months. Your mother must have raised you in a barn-"

Grace's blue eyes spark as she loses all control. She lunges to her feet, going toe to toe with her mother.

"You leave my mother out of this!" she growls, towering over her.

"Stop it!" I desperately cry, thrusting myself between them again.

Under different circumstances I might have laughed at the irony of it all. Hope just insulted her own role as a mother. And two months ago Grace would have done anything (including breaking into a mausoleum, which she did) just to see her mother alive again for one second. Now she's doing everything in her power to get rid of her.

"Do I have to separate you two?" I demand, giving each of them a stern reprimanding glare.

"I think someone needs a time out," Hope sings, adopting a tone that she might have used on Grace as a child if it wasn't for the smirk and the mocking edge to her voice. Grace sneers and tries to get at her, but I block her efforts.

"Cut it out! Both of you!" I yell at them, already growing weary of this idiotic fight. This is worse than dealing with immature First Years or prejudiced Slytherins. "You're sixteen, not five so prove it by either separating yourselves or resolving this amicably."

"I'm not five and I'm not a teenager either!" Hope reminds me, turning her back on us and angrily folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, then that makes you one messed up hormonal adolescent," Grace insults her, snorting and walking back to her bed.

"I'm an adult," Hope clarifies for us, furiously wheeling around and pointing an accusatory finger at her daughter. "And I expect you to treat me like one. I will not tolerate you disrespectfully talking back to me like that Grace Agrippa Adams, and if you ever talk to your mother-" Hope suddenly stops in the middle of her sentence as their eyes meet. Grace's face is a dangerous shade of white and there's something in her expression that I've never seen before. Perhaps, she's finally realized?

"My mother is dead," Grace says in a soft frigid voice, and I know that she hasn't or she's trying to deny what her instincts are screaming at her.

Hope pales, staggering back a step and Grace's face flushes as another wave of anger threatens to choke her.

"Get out!" Grace orders in that same deadly quiet voice but Hope is already out the door, slamming it shut behind her. I can hear her running down the steps, and though it pains me I know that I have to leave Grace and go after her.

"I'll be right-"

"Just go!" Grace cuts me off, waving me away and angrily pulling the curtains around her bed shut. I hesitate, sadly taking one last look back as she shuts me out and then dash outside.

"Hannah!" I call, racing out of the dormitory. "Hannah, wait up!" I shout, finally catching sight of her at the bottom of the staircase. She keeps going and storms through the common room as if she doesn't hear me.

"Can you just slow down!" I plead with her as she opens the portrait. I put on a burst of speed and manage to snag her arm after we walk through.

"Hope, stop!" I whisper, causing her to screech to a stop and look up at me.

"Oh, it's you," she grumbles, looking slightly disappointed to see me. She shakes my arm off and resumes her rapid pace forcing me to speed up again.

"Are you alright?" I ask her, quietly as we walk by a pair of Ravenclaw girls who stare at me as I walk past. They nudge each other whispering something that sounds like "Rohan's girl" and I duck my head and hurry after Hope.

"Do I look alright to you?" Hope laughs, bitterly.

No, she doesn't and that's what worries me. I know she's lost part of her mind and is subject to all kinds of crazy outbursts, but ever since we had gotten to Hogwarts Hope had been on her best behavior and seemed to be adapting happily to her new environment. This week though she had been acting strange, and after that outburst it makes me wonder if she's not telling me something…

"Hope, what's the matter with you?" I whisper even though the hall is empty now.

"Everything." Hope smiles darkly and shakes her head.

Pushing open the doors, she leads me outside into the snowy courtyard. It's freezing outside and neither one of brought a cloak. I draw my wand, casting a quick warming charm. Gradually a blanket of warmth envelopes us, and Hope acknowledges my efforts with a grateful nod.

"Want to tell me what's going on or should I just assume that you have an extreme case of PMS?" I quip.

Hope laughs again, and I watch her breath come out like a feathery puff of smoke.

"I wish it were that simple," she sighs, sobering. She looks out at the snow stretching out before us, and tilts her head up to examine the ivory sky.

"I'm tired of this, Lily," she confesses. "I want to go home."

"I'm sure Heather and Danny wouldn't mind-"

"I meant my _real_ home," she corrects me, quickly. "Don't get me wrong, I love Heather, she's my sister, and Danny's always been like another overprotective brother so it's not much different now. But I miss Mark. I really miss Mark. And seeing his daughter…"

"Who?"

"Grace," Hope answers me, frowning. "She has the same last name and… She has his eyes," she whispers, her face falling.

She also looks exactly like you, I want to tell her. But I keep my mouth shut.

"She looks just like him and… Agrippa," she adds, sadly.

"Agrippa?" Now, I'm confused. Wasn't that Grace's middle name?

"She's Danny's sister and she is – well, she _was_ Mark's girlfriend, but I guess she's dead now," Hope says, softly.

Well, that would explain how Grace got such an unusual middle name, and why Hope got so quiet when Grace informed her that her mother was dead. Thinking about it, it seemed like a pretty reasonable theory I suppose from Hope's perspective. She found Grace staying with the Potters, and if Agrippa Potter had been Mark's girlfriend at the point where her memories stopped it wasn't that crazy to automatically jump to that conclusion. Grace and James strongly resembled each other. And this became clearer after Grace cut her hair… Because, as I recall, Grace didn't want to look like her mother anymore. Now, looking back, I remember how worried Heather was that Hope would freak out every time she saw Grace. Perhaps in an effort to make the transition easier they hadn't done anything to discourage this theory of hers.

"Mark's dead too, isn't he?" It's more of a statement than a question. Hope keeps her eyes straight ahead as if looking at me will make the news more painful. But she already knows the truth, I know she does.

"I'm sorry, Hope," I console her, reaching up to touch her shoulder. "I know how much Mark meant to you."

Hope clasps her hands in front of her, biting down hard on her lip. A lone tear treks down her cheek.

"I heard that Death Eaters murdered them. There was a boy too wasn't there?"

"Yes, Grace has - _had_ a younger brother, Christopher," I inform her, reluctantly. "Grace only survived because she wasn't home at the time." I squeeze her shoulder comfortingly, even as it occurs to me how close I came to losing my best friend. If it had been only a half hour later James and I probably would have been at the house and died too. The thought of losing my best friend and James causes me to shiver.

"I came that day, the day they died," Hope recalls, shuddering. "I don't know why or how I got there. I remember Kenny and Ophelia and then there was Grace and all of you and then Heather and Danny took me back home. And then they put me in St. Mungo's for a long time…" she trails off, her eyes taking on a haunted look. "Lily, I thought I was going to die. Every day I got more of my memory back and I aged, but it was so strange. It got more painful, and I screamed, and screamed for them to stop. There was Crowley, and yes, I heard he died too, pity because he was the only one that would listen to me. It was him who told them to finally put an end to those dreadful tests and let me go home. He saw that I was in pain, he knew that it was killing me, and he stopped it." She pauses, slowly coming back to me.

"Sometimes I wish that they had kept going because death almost seems like a better option than this blind ignorance and all of this terrible confusion. I lost most of my friends, my family, and something even more precious, my memories, my mind… What happened to me, Lily?" she asks me, turning to look at me at last.

"I don't know, Hope," I tell her, honestly.

"The last thing I remember I was sixteen, home on my winter holiday and my brother Harry…"

"What about him?" I prompt her, gently at the mention of her murdered Uncle. The night I first met Hope, in her six-year old form, I found her in Harry's room searching for him.

"He was dying and I couldn't save him. But before he took his last breath he told me something…"

"What?" I ask curiously.

"That's what's so strange. My memories just stop. It's like there's a block there or something. I can't make myself go past it. When I try to go beyond that point I find myself back at that day when I woke up in the body of my six-year-old self with Ophelia hovering over me."

"Ophelia?" I interrupt her, thoroughly perplexed as to how her name suddenly came up.

"Of course, I could never place her until I met her in the Infirmary that day. It's been bothering me for a while, but I finally pieced it together a few days ago. Everything's still a bit fuzzy, but she must have brought me to Heather and Danny, or maybe that's just my first memory of her at the funeral. I'm not making much sense, am I?" Hope restlessly shakes out her dyed strawberry blonde hair, as if this will help get her thoughts back in order.

"My memory's so blurry from that period and only gets clearer near the end of my treatment at St. Mungos. It's funny, actually, because before I left Crowley told me that they'd never be able to get beyond this point in my memories because…" she trails off.

"Because…" I echo, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"Crowley said that I put the block up myself," Hope finally explains, expelling a frustrated sigh.

"Wait, you mean…"

"Yes, to put it bluntly, Crowley thought that I obliviated myself and he trusted that I had a reason for it, but that doesn't help me, does it? If anything it makes everything worse knowing that I did this to myself."

The wheels in my mind start churning as my thoughts race. I knew from what Grace had told me that before Harry died he passed on the location of the unnamable weapon on to Hope. If she had in fact obliviated herself that would have been the first place I would have started with. But how could she have done that? There were all sorts of things that could go wrong… I pause as two options present themselves in my mind. There was a good chance that Hope did do it herself which could explain why we found her in that unusual condition of a six-year old version of herself. Or, she might have had help… There were few people I could think of that were brilliant enough to pull off a spell like that and Ophelia was one of them. But that's just crazy. How would Ophelia possibly have anything to do with it? Sure, she had some weird insight about Hope, but Ophelia's always been strangely intuitive and a bit loony. Though more and more I'm beginning to take everything she says as fact. But this had nothing to do with Ophelia… right?

"Hope, why is it that your first memory is of Ophelia?" I inquire, deep in thought.

"How would I know? Supposedly, I obliviated myself, and I certainly don't remember doing that. Like I said it's pretty blurry, but she's a very unique person. Maybe she just stands out in my mind." Hope shakes her head, just as puzzled as I am.

I push my hair back and massage my temple. I can feel a headache coming on. Hope is right. None of this is making any sense. I need -

"James!" Hope cries out in surprise, at the same moment I feel an ice cold hand brush my neck as an arm wraps around my shoulders.

I don't even have to look up. Only James Potter wears cologne that smells so good that it can drive a girl crazy. Or maybe it's not just the cologne. Perhaps it's just the fact that everything about him, including his scent intoxicates me. Damn him.

"Hello Hope," he greets her with a small smile that's warm but strained. "Lily." The smile he gives me is noticeably smaller and the warmth in his voice and eyes is gone. Uh, oh.

"Would either of you like to take a walk with me?" he inquires lightly, maintaining the façade of a cheerful, casual invitation. His arm tightens around my shoulders, and though he only looks at Hope, it's obvious that this isn't a request but an order and that it's not meant for Hope, but for me only.

"Sorry, James, but I'm going to have to pass on your offer. I'm freezing, and I think I have frost bite in my fingers," Hope gives her excuses, pretending to grimace as she rubs her cold hands together.

"Well, don't let me keep you," James pretends to sigh in disappointment as Hope laughs, and starts to retreat back to the warmth of the castle.

"Hope!" he suddenly calls after her, arresting her steps. "I'd stay away from Grace if I were you, just to be on the safe side," he advises her, wisely. Hope flinches, and a flash of remorse flits across her face.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," she says, nodding. She turns and runs back to the castle. James waits until she's safely inside before rounding on me.

"Where's your cloak?" he demands.

"Inside," I answer. Caught up in my thoughts and overwhelmed by the dizzying close proximity of James, I had forgotten to refresh my warming charm, and I didn't even realize I was shivering. James rolls his eyes, muttering something about me being an idiot under his breath. He takes off his cloak and wraps it securely around me.

"You'll get cold," I argue, trying to take it off and give it back to him. But James pulls me so close to him, that all protests are immediately forgotten. All I can think of is how easy it would be for him to take my face in his soft, large hands and kiss me. With an effort I shake this image out of my head, even as the blood rushes south. He's with Tiffany and I have a date with… Oh, damn, I can't even remember his name.

"I don't get cold," he assures me, as he buttons me up with quick agile fingers. "I'm hot, too hot to handle," he jokes, flashing me the familiar cocky grin that always used to annoy me. I roll my eyes and finally find my tongue.

"Yea, you're hot-headed. That's for sure," I snort.

"You're one to talk. I don't know if you've noticed but you have quite the fiery temper," James laughs, and I playfully push him away from me.

Despite his talk of being "too hot to handle" James shows off with some impressive transfiguration. He transforms his jumper into a makeshift cloak that somehow manages to look better than my own. But perhaps it's just that James is so infuriatingly handsome that makes it look so good. He could probably come out in a ballerina tutu, suspenders, a fanny pack, and that ugly puffy polka dotted fuschia sweater that your grandmother bought you for your eighth birthday (and still expects you to wear at sixteen) and still look like he was born to wear it. I cast another warming charm around us, wishing I could do something better to impress him.

"I had a little chat with Gracie," James clears his throat, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I take it you already know that she had a row with Hope." He steals a look at me.

"Yes, I was there, unfortunately," I grumble.

"Well, at least you stopped them from killing each other. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but Grace is furious. She's a bit freaked out too since Hope apparently knew her middle name."

I stop short. Of course, Hope could have overheard Heather scolding Grace… Nothing stood out in my mind though. I hadn't even known Grace's middle name until today.

"She's also completely convinced that Hope knew her middle name because she's a Death Eater out to kill her," James adds.

"That's ridiculous!" I exclaim, wishing that Grace would let go of this stupid belief. "Grace should at least realize that if she were a Death Eater, she's already had more than enough opportunities to kill her in her sleep."

"Grace knows that too, I think. But she's highly suspicious of Hope, hates her for some unknown reason, and is determined to get her to leave Hogwarts."

"She hates her because she thinks Hope and Sirius have a thing, and Grace is insanely jealous."

"Wait, Grace fancies Sirius?" James asks, scratching his head.

"Isn't it obvious?" I gape at him.

"Not really," James says, immediately going on the defensive. Seeing my shocked expression, he throws up his hands and launches into an explanation. "Look, I've known them both for years and they've been driving each other mad since they met in our First Year. I know Sirius has always found Grace attractive and enjoys messing with her mostly because he cares about her so much. But I just assumed that Grace would never fall for a guy like Sirius. I mean, don't get me wrong Sirius is great. He's my best mate. But Sirius doesn't do relationships, and Grace knows that..."

James trails off and I'm uncomfortably aware of how much this sounds like our own relationship. Except that James finally gave up on me and moved on to Tiffany. It's not like I care though. I have a date with - what is his name again? ROHAN. Right, how did I forget? He's sweet, adorable, brilliant, and just my type. I'm looking forward to this afternoon. Honestly, I am. No, really. Rohan's such a nice guy, and so humble, and generous unlike James. It will be nice, I know it will be. By the end of the date James Potter will be the last thing on my mind, and I can finally get over him once and for all.

"Hopefully," I pray.

James gives me a funny look, and I realize that I spoke aloud. I blush and look down at my feet, trying to remember what we were talking about before thoughts of James Potter sidetracked me. I can't remember anything, because all I can think about is the fact that James Potter's arm keeps brushing against mine as we walk. Fortunately, James decides to ask me about Hope's side of the story.

I seize upon the distraction, and hastily give him a quick recap of everything that Hope told me.

"Ophelia, what does she have to do with all this?" James wonders, his brow creasing in annoyance.

"Probably nothing, but for some odd reason, she stands out in Hope's mind," I guess, shrugging.

"Everything about Ophelia is odd, that's precisely why she stands out," he sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"And Agrippa?" James says, frowning. "My Dad's sister?"

"Yea, Hope seems to think that she's Grace's mother."

"That's impossible," he says, shaking his head sadly. "Agrippa died in an accident when she was only seventeen. It was right after Harry died, it was a tragedy…"

James's eyes take on a far away look as if he's remembering another tragedy that recently befell his family. He turns his back on me, wandering toward the shore of the frozen lake. I trail after him, clinging to his warm and familiar smelling cloak, and listening to the reassuring sound of the snow crunching beneath our feet. It takes me a minute before I realize that the sound has stopped, and that my feet have left the solid snow covered earth.

My foot slips again, and I wobble. Glancing down, I finally notice that I kept walking, right out onto the icy surface of the frozen lake. I look up and discover that James is several feet ahead of me, walking steadily on the ice as if he's still on solid ground. Is there anything that boy can't do perfectly?

"James," I call after him, weakly, as if I'm afraid that if my voice is too loud it might shatter the ice beneath us. "Come back." James doesn't hear me because he keeps moving further and further away from me and the safety of the shore.

"James," I repeat, forcing myself to speak louder. "James!" But he's either too far away or too wrapped up in his thoughts to hear my voice.

I start toward him, but of course I don't possess the same perfect sense of balance that James has on the ice. I stumble and barely manage to catch myself before I fall and smash through the ice. I crouch down, trying to steady my shaking hands by placing them flat on the cold smooth ice before me. I try to tell myself to be brave but bumps beneath my fingertips attract my attention. Is it just my imagination or does the ice look like it's cracking? I freeze in place, holding my breath. I wonder vaguely how thick it is. If it's thin here, then it's probably even thinner where James is now...

Panic seizes my chest and I feel as if I've already fallen through the ice and am now drowning in the freezing cold water. Fear for my own life is forgotten as my heart races on ahead.

"James! JAMES!"

I run across the ice, slipping and sliding toward him. I know that any minute the ice will crack beneath my feet, and I'll fall through the thin sheet to my watery grave, but I don't care. The only thing that matters now is reaching the boy that stands just a few feet beyond me.

"_James_!" I scream as my feet slip out from underneath me, and I hurtle toward him. Instead of hitting the ice, and smashing through into the unknown depths of the lake, I slam into James's chest. He catches me in his strong arms with an exclamation of surprise right before his foot slips, and we fall. I shut my eyes tight and cling to him, but despite the peril of the ice cracking beneath us I feel safe here in his arms.

"Lily!" My eyes snap open and our eyes meet. "Are you alright?" he asks me anxiously. My eyes slowly move past him, and I'm immensely relieved to see that none of my fears have been realized. I'm not drowning, and the ice didn't break…yet.

"Lily, what's wrong?" James's voice is thick with concern, as he crushes my face between his surprisingly warm hands.

"The ice," I babble. "I thought… the ice was cracking and I thought you… I was scared that you'd…" I choke on my words, not wanting to think of what might have happened. "We have to go back before it breaks!" I tell him, urgently. I know I should be dragging him off the ice and back to the safety of the shore, but I can't find the strength to untangle myself from his arms.

James's face softens, as amusement and something else flickers in his hazel eyes. His hands slowly relax their grip on my cheeks and release my face.

"I've come out here several times and the ice has never cracked. My Dad said that spells in the wards around Hogwarts ensure that the ice doesn't break," he explains to me, tucking a wayward strand of my red hair behind my ear.

"Oh, right," I say, stupidly. Magic. It was always the answer to everything. I often wish that instead of Muggle Studies they offered Wizarding 101, it would have been tremendously helpful for muggleborns like myself. But then again, at least now I have an excuse for making such a huge fool out of myself.

"Are you okay?" James asks me again, rubbing my shoulder.

"I'm fine, I was just worried about you-" I stop myself, realizing by the sudden shift in his expression that I've said too much. I pull back from him, turning my face away.

"You care about me?" he teases me, grinning though there's an evident note of surprise in his voice.

"Of course I care about you!" I snap back at him, my cheeks flushing. I tug his cloak closer, as the cold air slaps against my cheeks. I wish he hadn't let go, his hands were so warm.

"That's funny," James says, still grinning, though the humor doesn't reach his eyes, "because I distinctly remember you announcing to everyone in Gryffindor that you didn't care about me at all."

I close my eyes, and automatically I find myself returning to that fateful day in the common room. I replay that horrible scene in my mind once more as my harsh words echo through the room, and everyone fades away except for James. James's face flashes before my eyes, and once again I see his heart breaking as our gazes lock. That was when I finally saw it, and that was when I realized…

"I lied."

The words are out of my mouth before I can reel them back in.

"What?"

I can feel his hot breathe on my cheek, and I wonder how in Merlin's name he got so close to me so suddenly. I keep my eyes shut and try to ignore the fact that my heart is beginning to race.

"What did you just say?" he demands, touching me.

My eyes fly open at the tremulous touch of his hand on my shoulder. I turn to face him and find him predictably within inches of my face. Even though I could sense his close proximity, it doesn't make it any easier. My heart starts to pound, and despite the frigid air I feel a wave of heat spread through my body.

"I said, I lied," I repeat, in a clear, strong voice.

I meet his blazing gaze head on. There's confusion and anger in his eyes, but it's the familiar passion that I've come to recognize, and the painful flicker of hope that cause me to catch my breath. The façade that I worked so hard to build starts to crack beneath the heat of his gaze, and I know that all it would take it is for him to come a few more inches closer to shatter entirely. Because now I realize that I can lie to Tiffany, I can lie to Rohan, I can even lie to Grace, but I can't keep lying to myself. Eventually, I won't be able to lie to James anymore, and I will have to tell him how I really feel about him… Even if it means that someone might get hurt…

"You mean…" James's hand moves from my shoulder to my hair, drawing me closer without even seeming to realize it. He's having difficulty finding the necessary words even as he comes tantalizingly closer to me. My breathe becomes ragged matching the rapid pace of his breathing as he strokes my hair and lowers his face to mine. "You mean after all this time, you might actually…" He cuts himself off suddenly, as if afraid to put the words out there. I wait on baited breath, silently willing him to force me to say them, so that I can finally tell him the truth.

But the words don't come. They never do when one needs them most. Seconds pass in silence, and I wonder if I could just close that breach maybe we could do without the words, and I could show him instead what I want to say…

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

The shout pierces the air, shattering the moment like a bullet shot through glass. James and I immediately look up, just in time to see a dark huge shape hurdle past us, and go spinning out onto the ice beyond. Stunned, James and I cling to one another in confusion, watching as the shape starts to twist and slow, and finally vanishes in the trees that line the bank.

"What was that?" I ask. James doesn't respond, instead he grabs my hand and starts pulling me to my feet. I begin to protest as he drags me along across the ice. My legs aren't nearly as long as his, and my feet keep threatening to slide out from under me. Then I see his face. It's white and grim.

"James?" I inquire softly, squeezing his hand.

Shouts echo nearby, and I can hear people running through the snow, cracking frozen tree branches underfoot, and skidding down the gravelly icy bank. James hurries me along, and as the trees open up before us I see the source of all the commotion. Lying on its side, with its prow tangled in some low branches is what looks like an obviously magically enhanced muggle sled. And next to it, sitting up with a dazed expression on his face is…

"SIRIUS!"

A white faced Grace explodes out of the trees, tumbles down the bank, and practically throws herself on him. Remus follows her, wearing a rare expression of panic and fear. Tiffany and Peter appear soon afterward, panting and gasping for breathe. While Peter leans against a tree to catch his breath, Tiffany runs to Remus and clutches his arm.

"Is he alright?" she asks him, worriedly.

None of them seem to notice James and I, standing hand in hand, because every eye is focused on the dazed Sirius that clearly just lost control and took a nasty tumble from a speeding sled.

"Are you okay?" Grace demands anxiously, kneeling beside him. Sirius just looks at her with that same dazed expression. I make a move toward them, but James's hand stays me. His fear has been replaced by relief, and now he looks almost… amused?

"Sirius!" Grace repeats in that same strained voice that's almost painful to hear. "SIRIUS! Say something!" she orders him, slapping his cheek.

Sirius grins up at her and opens his mouth.

"That was fun," he says, finally.

Grace stares at him with a mixture of fury and relief. The color floods back into her face, and her eyes blaze. She's going to explode at any moment now, and it's not going to be pretty.

"I think he has a concussion," Remus suggests, helpfully. He steps forward with Tiffany who still hasn't let go of his arm and nods in agreement. James snorts, and I squeeze his hand, reminding him to resist the urge to laugh.

"Perhaps Remus and I should take him to the infirmary," Tiffany offers nervously, also trying to prevent the eminent explosion.

"No, he's fine," Grace cuts him off. "He's perfectly fine," her voice cracks, and she has to stop and clear her throat. Sirius's grin widens as he reaches up to touch her hand that she unknowingly still holds against his cheek.

"Let's do it again!" he pleads with her, giving her that familiar puppy dog look. Much to my amusement the look is not entirely lost on Grace. Her eyes soften, and her lips twitch.

"Black, you are a complete idiot. You nearly killed yourself and you want to do that again!?" she asks him incredulously. But it's a rhetorical question. Sirius's grin widens.

"So, are you coming with me?" he asks again, slyly.

Grace just shakes her head, looking seriously torn between strangling Sirius or collapsing in a fit of laughter.

"You're impossible." She pulls her hand gently from her cheek and gets to her feet. Turning to Remus, she says, "You better get him out of here Remus, before I come to my senses and decide to GIVE him a concussion." With those last words she brushes past Peter and starts back toward the castle.

"Grace, wait!" Sirius scrambles to his feet and makes to go after her. But he takes one step forward and sways uncertainly on the spot as if he's dizzy.

"Sirius!" Remus shouts, trying to get to him. But James was the one that always had the lightning quick reflexes. He's at Sirius's side in an instant, catching his friend in his arms the moment he starts to fall backwards.

We all rush toward them, surrounding James and Remus as he helps James gently lower their best mate onto the ground again. Grace pushes Tiffany and Peter out of the way, bending down in front of Sirius. She curses under her breathe, suddenly grabbing his chin in her hand.

"You stupid prat, you're bleeding!" she hisses, pressing the sleeve of her cloak to a blooming cut on his temple. Before any of us can stop her, she's got her wand out.

"Grace, _no_!" I push her hand away but I'm too late. The healing charm has already left Grace's lips, and the tip of her wand has already touched his temple. Remus and James try to shield Sirius, both of them familiar with Grace's inability to pull off even the simplest healing spells, as a flurry of pink sparks explode from Grace's wand and surround Sirius's head. They vanish in a puff of flowery smelling rose-colored smoke, leaving James and Remus holding a now unconscious Sirius.

"Oh, no," Tiffany moans as the color drains from Grace's face.

"What have I done?" she gasps, clapping a hand to her horrified face.

"Don't worry Grace, he's suffered worse and he's always pulled through," James says optimistically, exchanging a knowing look with Remus and Peter. The Marauders were constantly getting themselves into scrapes, and so it was no surprise that they always seemed to be sporting scars and bruises, and were frequent occupants of the infirmary.

"I'm sure he's fine," I reassure her, gently pulling her away from Sirius before she can do any more damage. Grace groans, burying her face in her hands. I can hear her muttering, "stupid, stupid, stupid" over and over again, and I wonder if she's talking about herself or Sirius (since it was his own ridiculously stupid antics that got him into this mess in the first place).

"Why did I do that?" she asks me, as I pluck her wand out of the snow and slip it safely back into her pocket.

"Because," I whisper, leaning toward her, "You care about him."

Grace bites down hard on her lip, looking as if she's close to tears. I'm reminded of Hope, suddenly, standing in the snowy courtyard with her hands clasped in front of her as I confirmed the fact that Mark Adams was dead.

"I only made it worse," she protests, weakly. She looks vulnerable and even though I always suspected it, it startles me to see just how much she cares for him.

"No, you tried. You were only trying to help him," I tell her softly, rubbing her back consolingly. "There is nothing wrong with that."

"You just need to let someone else do the healing, from now on," Tiffany advises her, joining us. "Next time we'll have Lily get Rohan," she adds, winking in my direction meaningfully.

"Rohan," I repeat, quietly to myself. Something in the back of my mind stirs, as if I've forgotten something very important. Wasn't there something I was supposed to do today? But before I can dwell on it further, Grace interrupts me.

"I have to go make sure he's alright," she tells us, sniffling and wiping away a lone tear. She gets up from the ground and hurries after the boys who are bringing Sirius back up to the castle and presumably to the infirmary. She stops James, and the two of them converse for a moment before Grace takes his place, and James comes back down the hill towards Tiffany and I who are slowly catching up to them.

"Where are you going?" I ask him, curiously. "I thought Sirius-"

"Sirius is fine," James assures us, glancing back at his friends with a bemused expression. "He's milking this thing because of Grace. He's afraid she'll kill him otherwise." He shakes his head, and Tiffany laughs.

"You know that she's going to be pissed when she finds out he's faking it," I warn him.

"Yep, which is why I don't plan on being around when she does," he says, grinning. There's something mischievous about his expression, and my eyebrows automatically go up as I exchange a quick look with Tiffany. Smirking, Tiffany folds her arms over her chest and steps in front of him.

"I know that look, Jamsiepee," she says, smugly.

HOLD IT! Did she just call him "Jamsiepee"? Since when does she call him _that_? It's like one of those nauseating nicknames that couples give each other once they reach a comfortable stage in their relationship. I have to stop myself from gagging.

"What are you up to?" Tiffany asks him, tilting her head to the side.

"What makes you think I'm up to something, _Tiffanella_," James asks, smiling innocently, even as all of the smugness drains out of poor Tiffany's face. I can't help but snicker. Tiffanella, was the name that her despicable mother wanted to give her. Tiffany hates that name and James knows it.

"Ugh! I knew I never should have told you guys that story!" _Tiffanella_ groans.

I roll my eyes. After six years of practically living with those guys you'd think that Tiffany would know by now that knowledge of anything potentially embarrassing will be exploited and used for blackmail by the Marauders for the rest of her life.

James just smirks and winks at me as he walks past, as if he knows exactly what I'm thinking. She's never going to live that down. I turn around, watching as he gracefully climbs back down the bank to the scene of the accident.

"Hey!" I call after him, stepping to the ledge and looking down. He's crouched down in the snow among the skeleton like lower branches, searching for something. "What are you doing?" I ask though I know that whatever it is, it can't be good.

"I'm getting the Cupid Cruiser," James replies, snapping a few branches as he ducks down to retrieve something.

"What?" I blurt out, nearly toppling over the side and sliding face first down the bank. I must have heard him wrong because I could've sworn he just said –

"The Cupid Cruiser," Tiffany repeats, coming up behind me. "It's what they named the sled," she sighs, rolling her eyes. "Boys and their toys," she mutters to me.

"Why?" I ask, wondering why they found it necessary to name an inanimate object in the first place and why they picked _that_ of all names for a sled.

"Well, they were trying to remember the names of all eight of Santa's reindeer." Seeing my perplexed look, she shakes her head and says with an exasperated sigh, "They're the Marauders, Lily, don't ask."

"Why not Comet or Blitzen?" I suggest. Those both seem like pretty cool names, even if it is only for a sled. I can't believe I'm even analyzing this, it's just plain stupid.

"Sirius picked it," James grunts, retrieving the sled with one last tug from where it was caught and tangled in the branches. "Cupid seemed highly appropriate with Valentines Day coming up, and though I don't think it's necessary, considering how charming and unbelievably handsome I already am-" I roll my eyes, remembering why I turned him down the hundreds of times he asked me out last year. "Sirius thinks that it will help us pick up some lovely ladies."

"Oh, really?" I snort, how typical. "And I suppose smashing into a tree is really going to help him score big with the girls."

"Surprisingly, I think it worked…" James laughs as I quickly catch on.

"Grace…" I whisper, recalling my best friend's reaction to Sirius's injuries. Merlin, if Sirius was deliberately trying to get himself killed just to get Grace's attention I must have been wrong about him. He's more stupid than I ever expected, and yet a part of me had to admit that it was brilliant, almost sweet, in a weird, psychotic Sirius kind of way.

"So, which one of you lovely ladies is coming with me for a ride on the Cupid Cruiser?" James asks, with his most charming smile. He dumps the sled at our feet, and holds out a hand to us.

I smirk, glad for the first time in these past three miserable weeks that I am NOT James Potter's girlfriend. I turn to look at the lucky lady.

"Uh uh," Tiffany makes a noise of obvious refusal, shaking her head vigorously. "There is NO WAY I am getting on that thing after witnessing what it did to Sirius." She starts to back away slowly, but I grab her arm, unwilling to let her get out of this one. I know it's cruel, considering how much I know that Tiffany hates anything cold or having to do with snow, but this is just too good of an opportunity to waste.

"Oh, come on, Tiffany, I'm sure you've always dreamed of going on a romantic sleigh ride with _Jamsiepee_," I encourage her, enunciating her sickening nickname for him, while I try to push her toward James.

"Yea, don't be such a spoil sport Tiff, it'll be fun," James says, catching on and playing along. He comes up behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist as he dramatically paints a picture with the other. "Just think of the snow rushing past us, blowing into our faces with the cold air, and the incredible speed as we twist and turn down the-"

"NO! Don't you dare! It's freezing out, and that thing is out of control! If you think I'm going with you, then you're out of your mind!" Tiffany cries, shuddering. In a surprising burst of energy, she manages to squirm free of James's embrace and shove me aside. James and I grin at each other wickedly and chase after her. We have no trouble catching up to her, since Tiffany like me is not exactly an athlete and has even shorter legs than I do. Tiffany shrieks as James and I lunge at her from either side, trapping her between us.

Or so we thought…

At the last second Tiffany ducks out of the way and instead of Tiffany, James and I find ourselves embracing each other. My breathe catches in my throat, just like it always does when James and I find ourselves in these positions of frighteningly close proximity. And let me tell you, it happens on an annoyingly frequent basis. James is so confused to find himself clutching me in his arms instead of Tiffany that he tightens his grip on my arms and refuses to let me go. This is so awkward.

"There you go James, you want to go ultimate sledding on the suicide sled, Lily's your girl."

I look up and find Tiffany watching us from a safe distance away with a victorious smirk. Obviously she doesn't have a clue as to how much damage she's done with that simple last minute escape. She has no idea what James Potter does to me and how unnerved I am right now. I feel like I'm about to lose control and do something extremely stupid.

"Tiffany, get back here!" I call after her, wanting to kill her for putting me in this position. "I am not going on a suicide sleigh ride with your -" I stop and swallow, unable to bring myself to say the word "boyfriend".

"Oh, yes, you are!" Tiffany says, smiling sweetly at me.

"No, I don't want – James and I-" I try to stammer out some kind of refusal, but lying never came easily to me. The truth doesn't either apparently…

There's a part of my heart that's singing, because James and I are together even if it is because I'm about to go for a suicide sleigh ride on a magically defective sled called the Cupid Cruiser. What the hell is wrong with me? A few months ago and I would have rather taken a bludger to the head than be caught dead with James Potter on the – I don't even want to say the name again, it's that mortifying.

"Exactly," Tiffany agrees with whatever I was trying to stammer. "You betrayed me Lily, so now I'm going to make you suffer," she teases me, playfully as she addresses her boyfriend with a slight pout and her most persuasive sugary sweet voice, "Jamesiepee, don't you think that Lily deserves to be punished after she tried to get me to go sledding with you when she knows I hate the snow and ice?"

"Er…" James stares at his girlfriend in disbelief, still holding me, though I let go a long time ago and my arms are lying stiffly by my sides. He looks as if he's just been handed a Christmas gift in the middle of July by a perfect stranger, and has no idea what to make of it.

"James!" Tiffany raises her voice and gives him a stern look. I physically peel his hand from my arm, one finger at a time, forcing him to finally snap out of it and let go of me.

"Oh, right," James says, shaking his head and trying to regain his composure.

"Anything for you my lady!" he begins, striking a dramatic pose by pressing one hand to his heart, and holding the other out to a very pleased Tiffany. "Lady Tiffany, you have indeed been terribly wronged, and I shall avenge you with honor by kidnapping this villainous red headed traitor, and taking her for a wild ride on my noble steed Cupid Cruiser."

And before I can escape (I wasn't making much of an effort anyway because I was trying not to laugh out loud at James's supposedly chivalrous antics. James is the very last person I could see as a knight upholding a code of chivalry and wearing shining armor. And the Cupid Cruiser, enough said.) James has me by the arm and is hauling me back to the sled. I squeal, as he ceremoniously throws me down onto it and hops on behind me. He wraps his limbs around me, grabbing the reins. I sit between his legs with his arms on either side of me, and his chin just skimming the top of my head. I'm uncomfortably aware that he's pressing against my back, making me far too disoriented to make my grand escape from my "kidnapper".

"I only ask for your blessing my Lady for my success! Should I fail, I pray thee, do not mourn!" James continues dramatically, as he takes out his wand and taps the side of the sled.

Tiffany blows him a kiss, and might have said something like "Come back to me my love!" but she takes one look at my horrified face and doubles over in a fit of giggles. I hope she realizes that our friendship is over. I'm going to kill her for this, right after I kill James.

The sled leaps forward, and I scream. James laughs in my ear as I topple forward and grip the thin piece of wood that is all that separates me from my untimely death. I turn around to glare at him, realizing that he just did that to scare me.

"Haha, very funny!" I hiss.

"You look a wee bit scared, Lily," James says, grinning widely.

"I'm not scared." I lie through my gritted teeth.

"Maybe, not now," he chuckles, causing the back of my neck to prickle and goosebumps to break out on my skin like an extreme form of chicken pox, "but you will be once I-"

My second scream drowns out the rest of his words, as he gives the sled another "magic touch" and it literally jumps into the air. My body is soaring but half my intestines have surely fallen out. I could have sworn I felt my stomach drop, landing somewhere on the ground below. I hope Tiffany finds it, I hope she – Oh, shit!

_THUMP_!

We hit the ground surprisingly gently, but all my teeth are chattering, and I can almost hear my bones rattling with the effects of the jarring impact. We're sliding across the ice now, and I don't even mind that we're separated from the bottomless lake by a sheet of ice that might only been a few inches thick. As long as we're not in the air! The ice is smooth, and with the cold air whipping past me contrasted with James's warm body surrounding me, it's almost pleasant. We move lazily across the lake, heading for a distant shore, and as I drink in the sights and feelings I think that perhaps I could get used to this and maybe even find it a little enjoyable. Though of course I would never admit this to James or Tiffany, both of whom I intend to murder if I survive this suicide sleigh ride.

The sun struggles to peek through the thick cloud cover above us, causing the ice and snow to gleam and the landscape to become an almost blinding, and dazzling mixture of white, silver, and shimmering sparkles. I'm so caught up in the beauty of it all, that I don't notice until it's too late that James has gotten bored with our slow, leisurely pace, and has given the sled a few little love taps with his wand. The shore is before us in an instant and the sled lunges forward, launching us into the air again.

I shriek and James leans forward, tightening his body around me in order to keep me from falling out of the sled. This time the sensation isn't so bad, in fact it's kind of exhilarating. Even when we hit the ground, a little harder than the last time, my nerves are still on the edge but I'm beginning to think of it as a good thing.

"Are you afraid?" James asks me, leaning in close to my ear.

I shake my head, only afraid that if I voice it out loud he might give me a reason to change my mind. I can almost feel the smug grin spreading across his face, and I don't have to turn around to see the sparkle in his mischievous hazel eyes.

"Hold on!" he tells me.

He doesn't need to tell me this, my hands are still gripping the front of the sled so hard that they're bone white, and I have ceased to feel them.

Suddenly, the ground drops out from underneath us, and I find myself flung back against James as we slide down a steep hill. The breath is sucked right out of my lungs and my heart is somewhere in my mouth. This is like a rollercoaster ride, only better. All too soon, the hill levels out, but now I realize that those dark shapes I saw at the corners of my vision are trees, and if we're not careful we're going to –

"JAMES!" I scream as the tree looms before us.

James veers to right, just missing the formidably wide and solid trunk of an old pine tree. The sled zigs and zags as James expertly steers the sled through the woods. We weave in and out of the trees, narrowly avoiding a few dangerously close encounters. My heart's pounding so hard that it feels like it might jump out of my chest but shockingly, I find the whole thing thrilling. Someone's laughing, and I realize with a jolt that it's me. James is laughing too. I can feel him shaking slightly behind me and feel the laughter rumbling in his chest. I can't believe it, but I'm actually having fun ultimate sledding.

We burst out of the woods, racing into a group of startled younger students of all houses, in the midst of what looks like a snowball fight.

"Look Out!" James shouts to them. The students scatter and disperse, yelling at us as they run for their lives, and literally dive out of our way. A path opens up for us amongst the chaos as James tries to slow our sled down, but we're going way too fast, and the castle is coming alarmingly closer with each passing millisecond.

"We're going to crash!" I gasp, leaning back against him. I suddenly find my hands again, and wrench my stiff, rigid fingers from the front of the sled. I wrap them around James's legs on either side of me, brace myself for the impact, and impulsively scream out the only spell that could stop us.

"_Strigo_!"

We screech to a stop, just as the front of our sled bumps into the castle wall. I feel the tension leave my body, and I close my eyes and allow myself to relax against James with a sigh of relief. James's heart is beating hard beneath my ear, but as his breathing becomes more regular it starts to slow.

"That was close," James says, finally breaking the silence. "If it hadn't been for you reminding me of the braking charm-"

"And if you hadn't had your wand-" I realize.

"I think we would've-" James doesn't need to finish. We're both staring at the wall. It doesn't take a genius like Albus Dumbledore to figure out what could've happened.

"Are you alright?" James asks me for the second time today. He sits up straight, turning me slightly so that he can get a good look at my face. The concern in his gaze is so openly obvious that it makes me want to turn away.

"Yea, I'm alright now," I assure him, nodding. "But James, do me a favor."

"Anything," James offers with a smile, and I have a feeling that he really means it.

"Get the Cupid Cruiser a new name."

James bursts out laughing just as I spot a familiar petite blonde running toward us. Feeling guilty, for some reason, I untangle myself from James and start to climb out of the sled on shaky legs. Tiffany reaches us panting, and looking almost as panicked as she did earlier.

"Oh, no! It crashed AGAIN!_ JAMES_!" Tiffany glares at him and hits him upside the head as he tries to stand. "I told you to be careful! I'm so sorry, Lily!" she apologizes to me. "I didn't think you were actually going to get on the sled. If I had known that he was going to try and crash it, I would've stopped you from going with the idiot."

I bite down on my lip, since ironically it was Tiffany's fault that I got stuck on the sled in the first place. I try not to laugh or get angry though because I did in fact have fun (though I refuse to admit it to either of them) and Tiffany does in fact look as if she was genuinely worried on my behalf.

"I'm fine, Tiff," I tell her, forcing a smile. "In fact I just saved your precious Jamsiepee's arse. If it hadn't been for me, he would have been smashed to smithereens," I add, smugly.

James gives me a disgruntled look, but he doesn't bother to deny it. Instead he picks up the sled, hoisting it over his shoulder as if it doesn't weight anything at all. I try not to think of the muscles rippling beneath his sweater. I can't see them but I'm more than aware, especially after sitting pressed up against him for the past half hour, that they're there. Tiffany grabs my arm, thankfully pulling my attention back to her, as she drags me back toward the castle doors.

"Lily, I know you're probably furious with me for making you late. But I completely forgot until I bumped into Alice and Frank on their way with everyone else to Hogsmeade. You have to forgive me for being so absentminded. Honestly, I never would have made you get on that sled if I had remembered."

What do Alice and Frank have to do with anything? Remembered? Remembered what? What is she going on about? But Tiffany keeps babbling, dragging me along as if we're in some kind of race, and guiltily staring down at her feet as if she's just committed a grave sin, and that I should be delivering her to the guillotine. It's not like her to take a joke this seriously, and why is she in such a hurry to get back inside. I mean I know she doesn't like the cold…

"In fact I would have marched you right back to the castle, but you must have talked to him already, surely you would have been ready hours ago, at least I would have been if it had been me."

"Tiffany, what on earth are you talking about?" I ask, yanking her to a stop.

"Rohan!" she exclaims, wringing her hands nervously.

"What about him?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Out of the corner of my eye I can see James has caught up to us.

"What about him?" Tiffany echoes my words incredulously. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops. "Lily, you – I mean, I thought you – I must be wrong though because surely you couldn't have forgotten."

"Spit it out, Tiff," I tell her, before she can go off on another tangent and confuse me further.

"I thought you had a date with Rohan in Hogsmeade today!" Tiffany finally blurts out.

James's head whips around so fast, that he loses his grip on the sled. It slips from his fingertips and drops to the ground with a loud _THUMP_! And just like that, all the pieces start to fall into place. I do have a date with Rohan in Hogsmeade today, or I did…

"Oh, crap! What time is it?" I demand, grabbing Tiffany by the shoulders.

"Uh – noon maybe?" Tiffany guesses, and I have to try very hard not to shake her.

"It's half past noon," James answers for me, bending to pick up the sled. His back is to me so I can't see his face, but judging by the tone of his voice, I can sense that he's not exactly thrilled that I have a date with a guy. Unfortunately, I've got bigger issues to deal with right now, beginning with the fact that I just stood Rohan up.

"Oh, no!" I moan, letting go of Tiffany and staggering back a step. "Rohan's going to kill me! I was supposed to meet him at the Three Broomsticks at noon!" I slap my forehead, wondering how I could have possibly forgotten. All week I've been looking forward to this date, honestly I have, right up until the moment this morning when James Potter made me forget everything about it. Damn him.

"It's okay, I'm sure he'll understand…" Tiffany trails off, because we both know that it's not okay and that he probably won't understand. James snickers and Tiffany shoots a glare at his retreating form before turning back to me with a disappointed look.

"Lily!" she groans, looking as if she wants to slap me upside the head. "How could you have forgotten!? This is your first date and it is so important! Rohan's such a nice boy that he's probably sitting at the Three Broomsticks right now thinking that you're-"

"I _know_!" I snap, walking away from her so that I can get my thoughts in order and figure out how to possibly fix this mess. My eyes follow James, as he angrily stalks up the hill, heading for the castle. He's pissed. I can tell just by the way he's walking too fast. Focus Lily. Forget about James. Think about the poor guy that you just stood up.

"Maybe if I leave right now, I might be able to track him down and at least explain to him that I forgot. If he doesn't believe me-"

"He will," Tiffany assures me.

"Hopefully," I pray, crossing my fingers for luck. "Wish me luck," I tell her, and then I turn and start to make a run for Hogsmeade.

"Lily, wait!" Tiffany cries, seizing my arm before I can go two feet. "Tell me you aren't honestly thinking of going to the Three Broomsticks on a first date looking like _that_," she says, looking me over with a horrified expression.

"Tiffany, I have to go!" I try to get free of her, but Tiffany latches on to me like a leech and refuses to let go. She shakes her head making a noise of disgust in the back of her throat.

"You're not going anywhere until we get you dressed properly and fix your hair. I'm sorry, Lily, but you look like you just got off a sled," she apologizes, marching me back towards the castle.

"But I did just get off a sled!" I protest. I squirm but Tiffany digs her nails into my arm, and when she turns to look at me there's a dangerous light in her eyes.

"Do you want Rohan to be mad at you?" she asks, angrily.

"No!" I exclaim.

"Do you want a second chance with him?" she asks me.

"I guess," I trail off thinking of James but I quickly shake this image from my head, remembering that it's his fault that I'm in this mess in the first place. "I mean, yea, of course I do!"

"Then stop fighting me, run up to the castle with me, and do whatever I tell you to do. I can help you make it up to him and maybe even help you get another date with him, but Lily, you have to promise to cooperate with me. Understand?" She props her hand on her hip and glares at me. Shocked to see this rare side of my normally happy-go-lucky giggly friend, all I can do is gulp and nod.

"Good, now hurry up! We probably only have about twenty minutes to spare because you're already a half hour late and even that's pushing it. If only I had gotten a hold of you a few hours earlier, we could have had so much fun!" Tiffany sighs, mournfully as we enter the castle. I'm sort of glad she didn't find me earlier because I don't think Tiffany and I have the same definition of "fun".

I look around for James, expecting to find him snickering again at my predicament, but he's nowhere to be found. I stop in my tracks, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling that I suddenly have in my stomach.

"Come _on_, Lily!" Tiffany orders, tugging my arm so hard that I could have sworn I heard it pop out of its socket. I flinch, and obediently allow her to lead me away from my guilty thoughts about James and back to our dormitory.

* * *

*

Exactly nineteen minutes and thirty six seconds later, I'm slamming the dormitory door shut behind me and running down the stairs. I jump down the last two steps and nearly break my ankle in my haste. Why in Merlin's name did Tiffany insist on me wearing heels again!? After Grace forced me to wear heels to McLaggen's party, I thought I decided that I would be done with heels for the rest of my life. Apparently I was wrong.

"Wait, Lily!" Tiffany calls after me breathlessly, and I have to bite back an angry retort. Tiffany's brilliant when it comes to this kind of stuff, and I'm sure I owe her big time for everything that she just did for me (though I didn't dare take the time to check my reflection), but I'm already almost an hour late for this date, and I really don't want to make Rohan wait any longer. That is if he is still waiting. For all I know he could have found some other girl sitting by herself – or perhaps he just left… The second scenario is so much more depressing, because I feel terrible that I stood him up.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Lily, you're going to freeze to death without your cloak!" Tiffany cries, tumbling down the last step with my cloak in hand. I can't help it, I snap.

"Well, maybe if you had let me wear the sweater and jeans like I wanted to instead of this skirt-"

"Hush up, Lily," Tiffany interrupts me, helping me into my cloak, "You have great legs and trust me you'll thank me later," she says, turning me back around and pushing me toward the portrait hole. "Now, go out there and tell him you're sorry and show him how hard you're trying to make up for it."

"If he'll listen…" I mutter under my breath.

"He will, Lily," Tiffany reassures me. "And if he doesn't, he'll have to answer to me, Alice, and Grace."

I shudder at the thought of anyone getting on the bad side of any of my three closest friends. Especially now that I've been reacquainted with Tiffany's dark side, and of course Alice has her tricks, and Grace's always been notorious for her wrath.

Despite this "reassurance" that my friends have my back, it doesn't make the whole Rohan situation any easier. I'm upset that I hurt him, and I'm angry at myself. For the first time in my entire life a nice, sweet, handsome, intelligent guy finally asks me out, and I mess everything up. Is something wrong with me? I know what's wrong with me though. James Potter. Why can't I get him out of my head? What do I need to do to get over him and move on to someone like –

"Lily?"

I stop in my tracks and look up. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that I had left behind the castle, the castle grounds, and had already passed through the front gates into the village of Hogsmeade. Now I see that I have. I'm standing right by the gates with a perfect picturesque view of the snow covered village stretching out before me and standing in front of me, with his hands in his pockets and surprise in his sad gentle dark eyes is Rohan Corner.

"Rohan," I say his name, and hesitantly close the distance between us.

"I'm sorry," I blurt out, looking down nervously at my hands. "I know I'm late and I know it's no excuse but I completely lost track of time," I tell him. "I didn't mean to make you wait, honestly, I just forgot…" I trail off, realizing how pathetic I sound, and judging by Rohan's silence, he's not taking it well. Still, I have to give it all I have, and so I take a deep breath and lift my head, finally looking him in the eye.

"I'll understand if you don't want to, but I'd really, really like it if you'd still be willing to go to the Three Broomsticks with me."

Rohan doesn't say anything. Oh, crap. He's just standing there, staring at me, making me feel like the worst person in the whole wide world. I can feel myself getting smaller, as the guilt consumes me. Tiffany was wrong, all wrong. He's angry and hurt, and I'm a complete idiot for actually thinking that maybe, just maybe her plan might actually work.

"I'm sorry," I apologize again, turning to walk away.

"Don't apologize."

I stop when I hear his voice and slowly face him. To my surprise he's smiling shyly at me.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, and we both chuckle because he has nothing to be sorry for. "It's just that I always seem to lose my ability to speak when I'm around beautiful women, and you – you look so beautiful, Lily," he compliments me, gazing at me adoringly.

I gape at him, shocked because this was definitely not what I was expecting. Is this what Tiffany anticipated all along?

"See?" he laughs, and looks down at his shoes, clearly embarrassed. "I can't stop myself from making a complete fool out of myself, especially around you…"

No matter how many times I told myself I would not think about James Potter, I can't prevent myself from comparing him to Rohan, and noticing how different they are from one another. James is an overconfident, smooth-talking, charming, ladies man with a serious ego problem, and Rohan is just as handsome (well, that might be stretching it, but my friends and several other fellow female students I know of, agree that he is definitely very cute and good looking) but quiet, gentle, humble, sweet, and shy, especially around the ladies apparently. I smile, and can't help but laugh internally at my situation. I couldn't have found anyone more different even if I had tried. And despite the fact that I fancy James even in all of his egoistical glory, I have a feeling that this shy Ravenclaw is exactly what I need.

"I think it's cute that you get nervous around me," I tell him, sidling up to him with a shy smile of my own.

"You do?" he asks, nervously.

"Yep." I nod, stuffing my hands into my pocket, and gently bumping his shoulder with my shoulder. "In fact I find you so cute that I was wondering if you'd accompany me to the Three Broomsticks and maybe have a butterbeer or two with me?" I ask him, hopefully.

"I'd like that," Rohan says, "I just hope they don't try and throw me out. I sat there for an hour by myself you know without buying anything…"

"Oh, Rohan, I'm so sorry," I repeat, feeling terrible.

"I'm kidding Lily, I waited outside for you," he reassures me.

"Oh, so you were that creep that stands by the window and watches people eat their food," I joke.

"It is my guilty pleasure," Rohan pretends to confess with a sigh. "But don't tell anyone."

"I won't," I promise, grinning conspiringly. "It'll be our little secret."

"Good," Rohan laughs, and chivalrously offering his arm to me, he says, "Shall we?"

I feel like a princess as I take his arm, and allow him to escort me to the Three Broomsticks. And as we walk through Hogsmeade together, I happily think that I could definitely get used to this.

* * *

**A/N**: **For those of you that don't like long chapters, sorry but I did warn you and you could have taken breaks. I am so sorry that I didn't update but hey at least you guys got the equivalent of 2 chapters! And honestly I did have the first half written months ago, I just couldn't leave it like that and I didn't have time to finish it until I got out of school. The last two months of school were incredibly stressful but I'm back now and I'm hoping to crank out several more chapters and perhaps even finish this baby sometime this summer. Yea, wishful thinking… Before you start throwing things at me, this fanfic is L/J and I promise you things will work out eventually. But hey how'd you guys like ultimate sledding on the Cupid Cruiser? Ultimate sledding does exist, just not on magic sleds, unfortunately. I've had the sledding idea in my head for months and I'm so glad I finally got to write it. I came so close to having to cut it. And I'm sorry if the first half of the chapter was boring, it's sort of important though. Trust me, everything will all connect in the end, I hope. Warning: in one of the upcoming chapters I'm going to skip ahead a month or a couple of months, not really sure though. You can expect an update soon probably within the next two weeks…? Not making any promises but I'm going to try. Sorry, if I didn't get time to respond to your reviews, I'm exhausted and I figured that you all would want the chapter ASAP. It's easier for me to respond to signed reviews or PMs, but I will do my best to get to the anonymous reviews too. Please review, I would sincerely appreciate any Constructive Criticism you have or thoughts in general, especially after a two month long wait. Thanks again to everyone that reviewed, you keep me writing!**


	33. I Spy

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: **Rohan and the Cupid Cruiser are mine, so back off. Everything else though (with the exception of anything insane or weird) belongs to the genius of J.K. Rowling.

**Summary**_: _A jealous Grace continues to fight with her mother, coming dangerously close to discovering her true identity. Hope thinks Grace is Mark's daughter, but not her own, and remembers seeing Ophelia for some odd reason. Lily and James go for a walk on the Hogwarts Lake. Lily freaks, and reveals to James that she lied when she told him she didn't care for him. Sirius sleds into the couple and hits a tree. Grace is worried. James retrieves the Cupid Cruiser and kidnaps Lily, taking her on a wild sleigh ride. Tiffany reminds Lily of the date she had with Rohan that she forgot about. James is jealous. Lily is very late but with Tiffany's help and advice she succeeds in winning Rohan over.

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see the previous chapter.**

**A/N: Sorry. I went on vacation. You'll be happy to know that this is another long chapter!**

**Chapter 32: I Spy**

I can honestly say that Rohan and I had a great time in Hogsmeade. Rohan only tripped three times and walked into two lamp post because he was staring at me. And there was only one mortifying incident when I called him James by accident after he said something particularly funny. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I was thinking about James. Because I wasn't.

Fine, I was. Not the whole time though, only_ some_ of the time.

But I'm done dwelling on James Potter and what could have been if he wasn't currently dating one of my friends and an arrogant prick. Honestly, I am. I had a wonderful time with Rohan and at the end of the night he walked me back to the Gryffindor tower, chivalrously kissed my hand, and told me that I was the nicest, prettiest, and most brilliant girl in Hogwarts. (He also told me I was the most absentminded, but I'd like to try and forget the fact that I stood him up twice because I got distracted by James Potter.)

"Would it be too soon if I asked you to have lunch with me tomorrow?" he nervously asks me, clutching my hand.

"No, not at all, I'd love to have lunch with you," I agree, smiling.

"You're not going to forget again, are you?" he teases me, but I can tell that he's genuinely worried.

"Of course not," I laugh, silently cursing James Potter in my head for making me crush this poor guy twice already. "I promise I'll be waiting for you in the Great Hall at noon," I reassure him.

Rohan doesn't seem entirely convinced, so I do exactly what Tiffany told me to do. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. His dark, gentle eyes light up as his mouth curves into a smile, and before I can step back his lips are on mine again.

He didn't stumble into me this time, but I'm so unprepared that the kiss seems once again awkward, clumsy, and a little bit sloppy. Perhaps this is what all first and second kisses are like, but I can't help thinking that this is definitely nothing like my kisses with James. With James it was different. I don't know how to explain it. I think it's because he's hooked up with so many girls that he's perfected the art of snogging. Rohan and I, well, we're inexperienced… (Rohan confessed to me in Hogsmeade that he'd never been in a relationship and hadn't been on many dates either) Yes, that has to be it. Though I can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, it's not just our experience that's lacking, and that I didn't just enjoy snogging James because he was so damn good at it.

Thankfully, Rohan pulls back before I can continue to brood over this analysis. He looks at me, anxiously awaiting my reaction. I brush aside my initial disappointment, assuring myself that the next kiss will be better. I smile hesitantly up at him, and Rohan mirrors my efforts with a relieved happy grin.

"Thank you, Rohan. I had a nice time," I tell him, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Me too," Rohan agrees, softly. He leans toward me as if to kiss me again, but suddenly freezes. I hear someone snicker, and I'm instantly aware that we're no longer alone and that someone is laughing at us from somewhere in the shadows, watching our private moment.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at lunch," I say, uncomfortably stepping back and clearing my throat.

"Yea." Rohan nods, straightening up and collecting himself. His eyes move past me, squinting into the shadows as if hoping to discover the disruptive culprit who interrupted us. Whoever it is though, has wisely chosen to leave or at least make us believe that.

"Goodnight, Rohan."

Rohan turns to me, his face softening into a smile once more.

"Goodnight, Lily."

He turns and heads back to the Ravenclaw Tower with a noticeable bounce in his step. I can tell that he's attempting to hold himself back from running. He gives the suit of armor that he walked into two weeks ago a wide berth, but somehow he ends up tripping over something, because a moment later he's sprawled on the ground. I clap a hand to my mouth, trying hard not to laugh. It's not supposed to be funny.

"Are you okay?" I call after him, struggling to check the strong urge to giggle.

"Yea." He gets to his feet, blushing in embarrassment and mumbles something about "trip jinxes" before disappearing around the corner. There's another crash, followed by another "I'm fine!", and a flood of snickers behind me. Frowning, I whirl on the culprits that interrupted us earlier and have finally chosen to reveal themselves.

"I should have known," I grumble upon finding Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew snickering. Remus at least appears to be making an effort not to laugh, but Peter looks as if he's about to wet himself, and Sirius has his wand out and seems suspiciously smug. Though Rohan has been rather klutzy around me, I think judging by the smirk on Black's face that this time he was right about the trip jinx.

"Good one, Sirius!" Peter wheezes, clapping his friend on the back and confirming my suspicions.

"It's not funny," I scold, though a moment ago I had been laughing. "He could have hurt himself!"

"I was only looking out for you, Lily," Sirius excuses himself mock seriously. "He looked like he was trying to maul you."

"He was_ not_ trying to maul me," I tell him between gritted teeth. "He was only trying to kiss me."

"Was that what he was doing?" Sirius pretends to gasp, his eyes widening as he turns to look at Remus and Peter. "Well, he could have fooled me!" he exclaims, and I realize that I walked right into that one. Turning to Peter, he imitates Rohan, clutching his hand with an over exaggerated nervousness, trembling all over.

"Would it be too soon if I asked you to shag me tomorrow, Lily? Oh Lily, please don't forget!" he moans dramatically. He then lunges at Peter who shrieks as if he thinks Sirius might seriously snog him right there. Sirius collapses against the wall in a fit of laughter and Peter, blushing hotly, nervously laughs along with him.

I can feel myself burning up as my hands ball themselves into tight fists. Remus chuckles and rolls his eyes at his friend's immaturity, but he wisely detaches himself from the boys and stops me from blowing them to smithereens with my wand.

"Let them be, Lily. If you get angry you'll only encourage them," he advises, giving the password to the portrait ("Hedwig") and holding it open for me. I set my jaw and stomp past him into the common room. They had no right to make fun of Rohan like that, and I am certainly not going to forgive them.

"Lily," Remus sighs. "At least think of it this way, what they did to Rohan was harmless compared to what James is going to do to him once he finds out."

I immediately stop in my tracks.

"Find out what?" I ask Remus stupidly.

"That you're dating Rohan," Remus answers me, giving me a funny look.

With a jolt, I realize that Remus is right. I am basically dating Rohan. This was an entirely new experience for me. None of the boys that had allegedly fancied me (according to Tiffany or Grace) had ever gotten to date me or even approached me, largely because of James Potter's threats. Looking back now, I realize that James had tried to scare Rohan off as well. He had broken Rohan's nose twice, and probably would have tried to do it a third time if Grace hadn't been there to prevent it the dreadful night Rohan came back to give me my book bag. But then I had broke James's heart in front of everyone, and James in turn had gone ahead and asked Tiffany Crowley out. So, it shouldn't matter anymore, right? Because obviously James doesn't like me that much if he's still going out with Tiffany Crowley.

"Why would that matter to James if I'm dating Rohan?" I ask Remus, following him over to the corner of the common room where the Marauders have staked out their territory.

"He broke his nose twice, Lily. Clearly, he isn't too fond of the bloke," Remus chuckles, politely offering me the best armchair. But I refuse to sit down. I can barely stay still. My nerves are on the edge and I don't know why. Maybe I'm worried about Rohan, maybe I'm still mad at the Marauders, or perhaps I'm just angry with James. Or maybe, just maybe, I'm afraid of something else.

"James had no problem with Rohan until he started showing signs of fancying me, the girl that _he_ fancied," I remind him, and Remus makes no move to deny it. "But things have changed Remus, James has Tiffany now."

Remus collapses in the armchair, looking suddenly uncomfortable with where this conversation is going, but I press onward, trying to get it all off my chest.

"He shouldn't have any more problems with a decent guy that wants to date me. He shouldn't be jealous anymore now that he's dating one of the prettiest and nicest girls in Hogwarts." I try not to think about the fact that I just used the same adjectives to describe Tiffany as Rohan used to describe me.

"Am I right?" I demand, turning to him again.

"Yes," Remus concurs hesitantly, "But Lily, I think you're missing the point."

"What point?" I frown.

Remus fidgets in his seat as if he can't believe he has to have this conversation with me, and he'd rather be anywhere else right now. But I have him cornered, and I'm not letting him go until he elaborates on what it is exactly that he thinks I don't understand. He mumbles something incoherently under his breath that sounds like "Not his place", "James", and "missing the obvious".

"Remus, spit it out," I interrupt his barely audible musings.

"Fine, James is in love with you, Lily," he quickly blurts out.

I freeze, my breath catching in my throat. That was definitely not what I was expecting. Stumbling back a step, my knees hit the coffee table right before they buckle. I sit down hard on the table top, spilling parchment and an ink bottle all over the rug. Remus gets up from his seat, and has it all cleaned up with an easy flick of his wand. He hovers awkwardly over me, holding his wand as if he wishes he could clean this emotional mess up as easily as he just cleaned the ink and parchment.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Lily," he apologizes.

I open my mouth to lie and tell him that he didn't upset me at all, but instead I find myself asking, "Did he tell you that?"

"No," Remus admits, looking a little doubtful, and I feel that bubble of hope that was rising unaware in me suddenly burst. "Not exactly, but…" Remus must have seen my crestfallen face because he sits down on the floor beside me, and desperately continues, "But he's crazy about you Lily! I've known James for years, and I've never seen him act this way with a girl, you're – you're really -er – special to him, and I really think that he cares about you a lot."

"If he loved me Remus, then why is he dating Tiffany?" I ask him softly.

"I don't know, maybe because you told him you didn't like him, and then Rohan and you were dating," Remus guesses.

"We weren't dating though, and I didn't mean it…" I trail off miserably, realizing how pathetic I sound.

"Well, James didn't know that, and you probably should have told him." Remus pauses, looking as if this is too much for him and that his brain is ready to implode from all this relationship talk. He swears softly under his breath and turns to me with renewed vigor.

"Look, Lily, I'm not really good at this stuff, and this is probably something you should talk to Grace or some other girl about, not me. But I know James really does care for you, Lily. And I think you were too hard on him," he adds.

I glance down at my clenched hands in my lap, knowing that he's probably right. I came so close to revealing the truth earlier when we were on the ice. Why didn't I just tell him? I was waiting for him to make a move and he didn't. Only because we were interrupted, I recall. But was that the only reason? Could Tiffany have something to do with his hesitance and reluctance to take advantage of those opportunities he had with me? Or perhaps Rohan?

Rohan. I sigh. I'm dating him now. Well, not officially…

Maybe if I could just talk to James I could figure this whole thing out and set things right. Perhaps James isn't really the one I want, and Rohan might become that guy with time, but I won't know until I talk to James.

"I'll talk to him," I decide, nodding.

"I think that's a good idea," Remus agrees. He looks immensely relieved, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm going to talk to James or because this awkward conversation is finally concluded.

We sit in silence for a minute or two as I try to figure out how I'm going to approach James. What am I going to say to him? Am I really brave enough to come right out and tell him that I fancy him? And then there's the fact that he's dating one of my close friends, and technically I'm dating Rohan… I bite my lip, trying to avoid thinking about the fact that someone's probably going to get hurt. Remus plucks a book off the table behind him and starts leafing through it.

"Hey, Lily," he says suddenly, stopping on a bookmarked page. "Did you ever return that book to the library?"

"What book?" I ask, giving him a blank look.

"The one that we nicked from Zabini's dorm and that zapped Sirius," Remus replies.

I frown, but suddenly it starts to come back to me. Grace got hit in the face with it and spent the whole morning chasing Sirius around. I had taken it thinking it was Remus's, but when I tried to give it back to him Remus told me to keep it so that Zabini would get a library fine.

"It bit Rohan," I recall, remembering how the dumb book got me, him, and Ophelia kicked out of the library.

Ophelia had said something about it too. She had told me that it had a protective jinx on it and to hang on to it so that it didn't fall into the wrong hands. How odd, but then again Ophelia is always saying odd things like that. Like when she told Grace that her mom wasn't in her coffin, and when she instantly recognized Hope in her disguised form and told her that she had been waiting to meet her. Yes, Ophelia is the definition of weird.

"So, did you ever return it?" Remus interrupts my reverie.

"No, I didn't," I admit. "Why do you want to read it?"

Remus shakes his head.

"No, but I guess Zabini - and you know that other Slytherin Wilkes?"

Of course I know who Wilkes is. He and his buddy Mulciber almost attempted to rape me, but thankfully James, disguised as Zabini for a prank, came to my rescue before they could actually try.

"Well, Wilkes and Zabini ransacked the library the other day searching for this one book. They were so angry that they couldn't find it that they practically demolished two whole book shelves. Madam Pince had a fit of course when she saw what they had done," Remus chuckles at the memory. "I don't really blame her though, it looked like a bomb had hit. Either they were dueling with each other or that book was really important. I'm sure it's irrelevant, but for some odd reason I thought of that book we nicked and wondered if you still had it," he says, shrugging and turning his attention back to the open book in his lap.

"They were probably just blowing things up for the hell of it," I say, though that doesn't sound like something a Slytherin would do, even one as cruel as Wilkes. They did things slyly and sneakily, and there was always some kind of underlying motivation or purpose behind their cruelty, like their war on muggleborns.

"And besides, I can't imagine anyone wanting _An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry_ that badly," I add, suddenly recalling the title of the book that I turned over in my hands many times but had yet to crack open. I have no intention of getting myself bitten or zapped again and plan on removing the jinx before I even try to read it. Still, I can't help but wonder why it has a jinx on it in the first place. I make a mental note to start working on getting rid of that jinx soon.

"I just thought it was a strange coincidence," Remus says, without looking up from the book that he's already enthralled in.

"Yea," I agree half-heartedly, as I get to my feet and leave him to his book. "Goodnight," I say to him, suddenly realizing how late it is. "And… thanks again Remus," I add, softly.

"No problem," Remus dismisses it with a wave of his hand but he blushes, making me wonder if perhaps Remus has his own selfish motivations for wanting James to be with me and not Tiffany…

I head back to my dormitory, my thoughts immediately turning back to James. I have to talk to him. But already it's late, and just the thought of having to face James causes butterflies to erupt in my stomach. I can't go on like this though, I need to know if Remus is right or else I'm going to go insane.

"I must be crazy!"

I open the door to our dormitory and nearly walk into Alice. She doesn't notice me though. Instead she continues to pace worriedly back and forth in front of the door, wringing her hands agitatedly. One of her braids has come loose, while the other swings wildly about her head making her look like a mad woman. She keeps bringing her hand to her mouth, gnawing on her nails as if they're chewing gum.

"Oh! What was I thinking!?" she cries, shaking her head and walking around me as if I'm not even there.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I ask, concerned and alarmed. I reach out and grab her shoulder. She jumps out of her skin but finally emerges from whatever trance she was stuck in.

"Lily!" she exclaims, seeing me for the first time. Something in her seems to snap, and her bottom lip trembles. "Thank Merlin you're here!" she gasps out.

And then she throws herself into my arms and bursts into tears. Shocked, I still manage to wrap my arms around her and gently help her over to her bed, before I start asking her questions.

"Alice," I ask, softly, rubbing her back. "What's the matter?"

"I told Frank I'm in l-l-love with him!" she explains between sobs. "And then – and then I kissed him!" she moans, burying her face in her hands and rocking back and forth. I try to come up with something to say, but considering the mess I've made between James and Rohan I don't think I'm the best person to give advice on this matter.

"Did you tell Tiffany what happened?" I ask, referring her to the relationship guru amongst us. "Or Grace?" Grace hasn't had nearly as many guys as Tiffany, but she had a couple of boyfriends last year and despite her track record with Sirius, she still knew a lot more about relationships than I did.

"No," Alice shakes her head, sniffling. "I'm too afraid to leave. I might run into Frank and then-" she trails off miserably, and I pull her toward me, soothingly stroking her hair.

I know exactly how she feels. Minutes ago, I was contemplating telling James the truth, now I'm not so sure I want to. Alice is a lot braver than me. I still can't believe Frank though. I was so sure he was mad about her. Perhaps he's too scared and just needs some sense knocked into him. If that's the case then I'll volunteer, and I'm sure Grace would be more than willing to help. Maybe Tiffany too, though for some odd reason the thought of having to talk to Tiffany about anything churns my stomach unpleasantly.

"Oh, I can't face him Lily! I just can't. I've been in love with him since the day we met, and I only realized it this year! He's my best friend Lily, and I can't lose him. I can't. And then I go and mess everything up, telling him my feelings and kissing him. What was I thinking?" she breaks off once again, helplessly yanking at the remaining braid in her hair and gnawing at her nails.

"What happened?" I ask her again, still trying to figure out what it was that Frank did that made Alice so convinced that he didn't reciprocate romantic feelings toward his best friend. It just doesn't make any sense.

Alice takes a deep breath, pulling herself together.

"I went to Hogsmeade with him, like always, and it was great. We had so much fun, and everything was just perfect. A little too perfect I guess, because I thought as we were walking back to the castle, that nothing could ever ruin this day, and that this was the most amazing guy and there was no one, absolutely no one else for me. And he was laughing about something, I don't even remember, and I just blurted it out and then I did it," she finishes breathlessly after pouring out the story without a single pause, just like she always does when she's overly emotional. It takes me a couple of minutes to process what she said or rather what she didn't say.

"And then what?" I prompt her, gently.

"I kissed him," she repeats.

"And…?" I wait for her to continue, because I have a hunch that she's deliberately leaving something very important out.

"And then I – I ran away," Alice stammers out, shrinking in on herself.

"He didn't say anything?" I ask her incredulously, but judging by the way she's cowering, I think I already know the answer to this one.

"No," Alice says, shaking her head. "He sort of just stood there, shocked, and so I apologized and told him it was a mistake, and then I started running-"

"You told him it was a mistake!?" I interrupt her, holding her away from me.

"Er – yea, I think I did," Alice recalls, bracing herself as if she knows what I'm going to say.

"Alice!" I groan as all the pieces suddenly fall into place. Merlin, this girl could be so thick when it came to Frank. I thought for sure Grace had finally helped her see the light, but apparently despite Alice's perfect vision, she's still terribly blind when it comes to her sweetheart.

"You said it was a mistake so, now Frank thinks that you didn't want to kiss him!" I explain to her patiently.

"What?" Alice blinks at me as confusion rapidly replaces her initial misery. Merlin, what is wrong with her? It's so painfully obvious!

"How do you know that Frank doesn't see you as anything more than a friend when you didn't even give him a chance to register the fact that you kissed him before you took it all back and ran away!?" I point out.

She sits in silence for a moment, soaking it in.

"Wait, you think that Frank didn't do anything because I caught him off guard?" she asks finally.

I nod.

"But I told him it was a mistake – oh!" she cries, as it dawns on her at last. "Oh, dear! Now he must think that I just want to be friends! I didn't mean to make him think that – I – I – what do I do now?" Alice panics, as her anxiety returns in full force. She looks to me helplessly, looking as if she's about to start pacing around like a mental patient again. I grab her by the shoulders, look her in the eye, and I tell her what I should have done ages and ages ago.

"Go get him, Alice."

Alice breaks into a nervous smile and runs out of the room. I sit and listen to her footsteps die away, before I get up and close the door. I lean back against it, closing my eyes. Suddenly, I'm exhausted. I don't think I could handle talking to James tonight, even if I actually did manage to track him down and get him alone.

"Don't you think you're being a bit hypocritical?"

I open my eyes halfway and notice Hope emerging from the four poster bed that she had taken to sleeping in since her "transfer" to Hogwarts.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lie through my teeth.

"Do you ever take your own advice, Lily?" Hope raises her eyebrows, giving me an infuriating all knowing smile that I don't like at all.

"You could have talked to her, you know," I snap, choosing to ignore her observation which seems to hit a little too close to home.

"I was asleep for most of it," Hope explains, shrugging.

I bite my tongue when I notice that she does in fact look like she just crawled out of bed and that she looks almost as exhausted as I feel. Besides, there's no use blaming Hope for my cowardice. I can go talk to James whenever I want, in fact maybe I'll go talk to him right now.

I leave Hope changing for bed and head for the Common Room in search of James or someone who knows where James is. I barely make it to the bottom of the steps before two giggling girls intercept me. I stop when I round the corner, recognizing them instantly as my best friend and unfortunately Tiffany Crowley. I carefully turn my face away from James's current girlfriend, hoping that she won't notice the guilt in my eyes. But Grace and Tiffany are far too worked about something to notice much of anything.

"Lily!" Grace cries excitedly, reaching for me. She reverses her steps, linking her arm through mine.

"You'll never guess what just happened!" Tiffany squeals, latching onto my other arm and helping Grace drag me down the steps.

"What?" I ask, guiltily hoping that this won't take long or that one of them knows something about James's whereabouts. Tiffany forcefully tugs on my arm in her enthusiasm, and I wince.

"What's going on?" I demand, trying to shake them off like the sharp sense of guilt that is slowly consuming me with each glance that I get of my friend Tiffany. She's dating James, remember? And I'm about to attempt to steal him away from her. I push these thoughts aside, not wanting to think about what might happen with Tiffany. At least not now.

"Come on guys," I say, forcing some playfulness into my tone, more to distract myself than anyone else. "What's the big deal?"

Tiffany and Grace exchange a meaningful grin, before Tiffany finally sees fit to let me in on the secret.

"Okay, fine! We think that Alice and Frank are finally together!" Tiffany announces euphorically, practically skipping down the last two steps and taking me with her.

We stumble clumsily into the Common Room, with only the taller and stronger Grace to prevent us from falling flat on our face… at Frank and Alice's feet. Grace yanks me back and I reel Tiffany in before she can give us away. We crouch in the shadows of the staircase, a mere ten feet away, obviously spying on the happy couple.

Not like they would have noticed though. Frank has Alice in his arms and he's looking at her with such strong and open affection, that I know that all misunderstandings have been fully resolved and that Frank has finally had his opportunity to tell Alice that he's always loved her, and he always will. They're revolving slowly on the spot almost as if they're slow dancing to music that no one else can hear and though neither one of them can dance on their own, they move gracefully together. Alice's head comes into view and I see her hair, still half braided on one side, and frizzing and sticking up wildly on the other. As Frank smoothes it down with one hand and bends his head to kiss each of her blushing cheeks, I hear him whisper,

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world."

And I know as Alice lifts her head and beams up at him with loving eyes, that she knows that he thinks every word is true.

"I love you," she murmurs, raising herself on her tiptoes to kiss him again.

I smile ruefully, quietly congratulating Alice in my mind for finding such a wonderful guy and having the courage to tell him that, but before I can dwell on these thoughts further, Tiffany grabs my arm hauling me to my feet. There's a clamor of whispered protests and slippered feet. Grace is already shepherding a group of fourth and second year girls that have gathered unknowingly behind us to gawk at them, back up the steps.

"What do you think you're doing spying on them? Let the couple snog in peace!" Grace hisses, giving them the evil eye.

"You were spying on them too!" one particularly bold girl grumbles.

"We do not spy, we _supervise_," Grace corrects them. "Now get to bed or I'll sic Prefect Lily Evans on you," she threatens, pushing me in front of her and awarding me a power that she knows that I do not have.

The fourth year girls roll their eyes, knowing this, but they go anyway, more afraid of Grace's notorious temper. But the poor naïve second years trip over their own feet in their haste to reach the safety of their own dormitory. Tiffany, Grace, and I watch them run away, more amused than we should be.

"Grace," I hiss, hitting her as she makes a run for our dormitory. "You shouldn't have said that! Now everyone's going to think that I'm mean and that I write everyone up!"

"Exactly, now they won't bother us," Grace says matter-of-factly, sounding remarkably like her scheming mother. "Just think of the benefits, Lily. We'll always get the comfiest arm chairs in the Common Room and the best seats at the Gryffindor table. Perhaps we could even set up a tribute system, they could pay us and in return you'd promise never to write them up – _Ow_!" I finally manage to get an opening, landing a light punch to her arm. Tiffany laughs as lets us into the dormitory.

"Yea, you go right ahead and laugh at me, Tiffany, while Lily abuses me," Grace says, rubbing her arm and pretending to glare at both of us. "But guess what, now that Alice and Frank just decided to get together you owe me five galleons!"

"Oh, shut up!" Tiffany says, shoving her into McLaggen's "dressing table".

Grace throws out her arm to steady herself, sweeping it across the tabletop and accidentally knocking every single item off of it. Tiffany gasps and I clap a hand to my mouth as a lifetime supply of mostly magical hair supplies, and makeup, in addition to hundreds of other accessories, and useless knickknacks spill all over the floor. I wince as the last item, a jeweled, oddly shaped mirror topples over. Grace makes a half hearted attempt to catch it, but it crashes to the ground along with everything else.

"Now look what you've done Tiffany!" Grace mock admonishes her, attempting a glare despite the fact that she's about ready to bust out laughing.

"Oops." Tiffany deadpans, not looking concerned at all with the destruction of the banshee's things. It's been nearly a month since the banshee publicly humiliated her with Zabini, and Tiffany evidently still hasn't forgotten it. Grace takes one look at Tiffany's serious face and completely loses it. Tiffany and I grin and laugh too.

"Oh, no! How is she ever going to do her hair tomorrow?" I gasp, dramatically waving my hands around helplessly, imitating McLaggen.

"The horror, the horror! This is an emergency! Get my father the Minister of Magic immediately! All salons must be emptied and their full supplies owled within the hour! HURRY!" Grace urges us, mimicking the banshee.

Tiffany and I are in stitches, when Hope suddenly appears in her nightgown, demanding to know what in Merlin's name is going on. Grace laughs louder to piss Hope off, but between Tiffany and I, we manage to explain to Hope what happened. Hope lowers her wand and shakes her head at our antics as if she's suddenly feeling her real age. She opens her mouth, but seems to think better of it after a glance in Grace's direction.

"This place is going to reek," she merely points out, wrinkling her nose and nudging a broken perfume bottle with her barefoot.

"Shit, she's right," I sigh, extracting my shoe from something sticky and smelly. "We should probably get this stuff cleaned up," I reluctantly suggest to Tiffany and Grace.

They both look as if they'd rather leave the mess the way it is, and I have to admit I'd kill to see McLaggen freak when she finds it. But the unpleasant fumes are noticeable now, there's glass everywhere, and something slimy and green is starting to leak under McLaggen's and possibly Grace's bed as well. Between the four of us we manage to get everything quickly cleaned up with a variety of cleaning charms and good old fashioned muggle methods.

"She has so much stuff, that it's hard to believe that she'll figure out that half of it's missing," I grumble as I wipe down the floor with a towel one last time.

"She won't, she can't count that high," Grace cackles, summoning the trash barrel. But McLaggen despite not being the brightest bulb, has always been much more anal about her dressing table and everything on it than her overflowing closet of clothes, which Grace and I recently "borrowed" some dresses and shoes from. She still hasn't noticed.

"Hey, at least the mirror didn't break," I say optimistically, getting down on all fours to retrieve it from under McLaggen's bed. "As long as she has something to look at herself in, she's less likely to notice anything else around her," I chuckle, picking up the jeweled looking glass. "That's weird that it didn't break though," I observe, frowning.

I turn the strangely shaped mirror over, running my hands over what originally looked like jewels to me but upon closer inspection they appear to be tiny sparkling… knobs? They turn and twist under my probing fingertips as if by adjusting them just right, I might be able to pick up a signal and locate a radio station or perhaps… I push one of them too far and suddenly the room is filled with light. The looking glass is glowing in my hands, but a gasp from Tiffany causes me to look up and discover where the sudden blinding light in our dormitory is really coming from.

Directly above the mirror is a shimmering, pulsing orb of light that looks oddly familiar.

"Well, I've had mirrors that have insulted me, complimented me, gave out advice, and sang to me, but I've never seen a mirror do that before," I attempt to joke, raising my eyebrows in surprise. In the wizarding world mirrors held conversations with people, but never in my six years here had I ever seen one react like this. At least not up close… But perhaps I had seen something like this from a distance, once, about a month ago…

"It's not a mirror, Lily," Hope contradicts me softly, fearfully watching the deceptively beautiful sparkling ball of light hovering over us.

"It's a Bewitching Spyglass."

* * *

*

"I can't believe the banshee has one of those!" Grace whispers to me as we walk down to the Great Hall the next afternoon for lunch. "Do you know how rare they are?"

"Not too mention how expensive they are," Tiffany chimes in as she catches up to us.

"And illegal," I add, frowning as I remember the argument that Eddie, Rohan, and Ophelia had over this particular, the last time I witnessed a Bewitching Spyglass. I could still remember what Ophelia had said about them.

"_With the right spellwork and the exact coordinates the owner of the spyglass can use any mirror in the world as a sort of window. The view from that particular mirror is then reflected into the spyglass for the owner's own viewing pleasure."_

It was the day that I escaped the hospital wing and Gracie and I had followed Frank down into the dungeons to discover practically everyone in the entire school crowded around a spyglass. I convinced Rohan to let me stay and watch with them as the new Minister of Magic was announced. Tiffany's mother had made the announcement and Tiffany had gone into hysterics at the sight of her and the reminder of her father's death. To top it all off, Debby McLaggen's father had been appointed, a choice that only Debby and the Slytherins seemed to be happy about. And then of course Zabini had dumped Tiffany for McLaggen and a fight broke out when Tiffany retaliated to a nasty comment McLaggen made, but that was another story.

"I wonder how she got one," Grace muses.

"Her father is the Minister of Magic, Grace," Tiffany replies, rolling her eyes. "She's got more power and money at her fingertips than the Queen of England."

"Yea, but there's so few of them still in existence," Grace protests. "And to think that not one but _two_ students in this school have one is hard to believe!"

"Two?" Tiffany frowns.

"Some Slytherin kid's got one," I answer for Gracie. "They were using it when the Minister of Magic was announced…" I trail off into an uncomfortable silence as Grace and I both shoot furtive looks at her hoping she won't remember what else happened that day.

"It figures that a Slytherin would have one," Tiffany says at last, twisting her pretty face into a scowl. "They're all slimy, slippery, sneaky, conniving bastards," she spits out and Grace and I exchange a quick look, knowing that she's really only talking about one particular slimeball Slytherin.

"You got that right," I agree with her showing solidarity, and Grace throws an arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner.

"But what I want to know is what the banshee's doing with one," I continue, puzzling over the matter.

"Oh, I can think of lots of things that she might be doing with it," Grace says dryly and Tiffany giggles. I'm reminded of Eddie and Ophelia's argument once again, and how Eddie only half jokingly said he'd use a spyglass to spy on girls changing.

"Perhaps," I allow them with a small grin. "But the banshee just doesn't strike me as the type that would gawk at boys, she's more enthralled with her own reflection and she's never had a problem satisfying herself, if you know what I mean." I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively and Grace and Tiffany laugh, knowing that I'm referring to her reputation as being a slut.

"Good point." Tiffany nods. "She must be spying on us then," she suggests only half serious.

"Yea, I'm sure that's exactly what she's doing, watching Tiffany steal her makeup, no doubt," Grace snorts. I grin as Tiffany's cheeks flame.

"I do not steal her makeup!" she protests.

"Yea, but you certainly borrow it an awful lot," Grace points out.

"Okay, okay, I admit I do. But it's only because she doesn't use half of it and normally I can't afford to even look at half that stuff! And, well, you know how much I love makeup!" Tiffany whines. Grace and I laugh, and fortunately for Tiffany the conversation ends as we enter the Great Hall.

Immediately my eyes go to the Gryffindor table, honing in on the four Marauders, well one in particular. Even from this distance, I can tell that he's got that mischievous grin on his face and that his hazel eyes are a sparkle, just like they always are when he's in the midst of planning or recounting another one of their brilliant pranks. He leans across the table, whispering something that makes the other three suddenly roar with laughter. I watch as he pulls back, smirking and pushing his unruly black hair out of his bespectacled eyes. Why in Merlin's name does he have to be so handsome? It should be illegal to look that good. As if he can sense me staring at him, he turns around in his seat slightly and looks up at me. My breath catches in my throat, as our eyes lock.

Instantly the sparkle in his eyes goes out like a light and all of the humor drains from his face, though his expression remains carefully frozen in place. My cheeks flush as if I'm ashamed, though I'm not quite sure of what it is exactly that makes me tremble in his presence as if I've done something wrong. His face hardens and his smirk widens as he nudges Sirius who takes one look at me and chokes on his pumpkin juice.

Yep, he definitely knows about Rohan and me. Thanks to Black.

With cheeks aflame, I shoot Sirius a withering glare as I take my usual seat further down the table. Grace sits down with me and starts filling her plate. I look around for Tiffany, and wish I hadn't. She's squeezed herself onto the bench between Sirius and James and is leaning into him as she whispers something into his ear. James laughs loudly at whatever she said, and grabbing her by the waist he lowers his mouth to hers. I watch in a mixture of jealousy and disgust as the kiss goes on and on and…

"_LILY_!" someone hisses at me, and I feel something hit my forehead and land in my lap. I snap out of the trance, blinking stupidly at the piece of toast in my lap and Grace across from me.

"Sorry, I zoned out," I lie, but I don't have to because Grace knows exactly what I was looking at and why. Thankfully, she doesn't press the issue and instead turns to talk to the Head Girl Mary Pewter who just sat down with us.

Stealing one last glimpse of the nauseating couple, I could have sworn I caught James smirking and winking at me as he releases Tiffany and returns to his lunch as if nothing happened. I crush the piece of toast like a pancake between my fingers. Damn him, he did that on purpose because he knew I'd be watching!

Well, two can most certainly play that game.

"Where are you going?" Grace asks me as I get up from my seat.

"To find Rohan," I answer loud enough for James to hear. "I promised I'd meet him for lunch today." And for once I have James to thank for reminding me. I turn to him with a smile that James deliberately pretends not to notice.

Fortunately I do find Rohan, sitting at the Ravenclaw table with Ophelia. He smiles when he sees me and nearly pushes Ophelia off the bench in his haste to make room for me.

"Calm down lover boy, I need to finish these radishes. Everyone knows that radishes improve one's aura and Xenophilius said that mine hasn't been as bright and golden as it should be," Ophelia explains to us, picking at her salad which upon closer inspection entirely consists of radishes and nothing else.

I meet Rohan's eye and he merely shrugs as if to say, "you get used to it."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you until later. It's not noon yet," he apologizes, completely unaware that I barely remember what was said.

"I got here early. I had such a great time yesterday that I couldn't wait to see you again," I gush with exaggerated enthusiasm, hoping that somewhere behind me James is listening.

"Me too," Rohan admits softly, beaming and blushing.

I feel a little guilty as I slip in beside him and make a huge show of giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek. Rohan's surprised but pleased by my behavior. He doesn't have a clue that my eyes keep drifting past him, seeking the reaction of another guy. I think Ophelia does though. She twists around in her seat, following my gaze back to James, and then gives me a thoughtful look that has an intensity in it that I'm not very comfortable with. Embarrassed, I stop looking at James and focus on eating my lunch instead. He's not close enough for me to be able to gage his reaction anyway.

"There's something I wanted to ask you," Rohan is saying to me.

"Ask away." I give him my full attention, or at least I try too. Even though I can't see him, I can practically feel James's eyes burning holes into the back of my head.

"Lily," Rohan covers my hand with his, forcing me to look up into those gentle dark eyes that seem so sad that it's almost painful to look into them. He hasn't the foggiest idea that I fancy James and that I came over here mainly to make James jealous. He's oblivious and I'm a rotten person for taking advantage of that.

"I know we only went on one date, and we've only gotten to know one another recently, but I'd like to get to know you better."

"Me too," I cut in, and it's not completely a lie. I do like Rohan. He is a nice guy. He's a great catch. I this had been six months ago I probably would have fallen in love with him on the spot. But of course that was before I got to know James Potter.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd be my-" he stops abruptly, clutching his head with an agonized expression on his face as if he's just got a nasty bump to the head.

"Rohan?" I ask, frowning at the sudden change in him. "Are you alright?"

He shakes his head, closing his eyes in pain.

"Rohan, what's the matter?" I inquire anxiously, only half aware of the fact that the Ravenclaws around me are starting to stare.

"I feel like I just hit my head," Rohan says confused. He looks like he just hit his head. Perhaps I'm imagining it but there appears to be a bump growing in his hair, several bumps in fact. I blink, sure that I'm hallucinating and try to focus on helping him.

"Maybe you should go lie down," I suggest, worriedly.

"Yea," Rohan gets to his feet and promptly loses his balance. Raucous laughter erupts behind me and I don't need to turn around to know that it's coming from the Marauders. My cheeks are aflame as I help him to his feet. I know why he lost his balance. He's got a tail and it's growing.

"Hospital wing," Ophelia commands me curtly, appearing at Rohan's other side.

I don't ask questions. I get beneath Rohan's other arm and we start marching him off to the infirmary. The Great Hall seems three times longer than it usually is and the walk to the doors feels like hours. I can feel every single person in the room looking at me, Rohan, and Ophelia as we walk past. We leave whispers and a ripple of laughter in our wake.

Once the doors finally close behind us, I steal a quick look at Rohan. My mouth falls open. The bumps on his head have turned into small horns and his tail has grown at least another two feet. But the worst is that he's got –

"Are those wings?" The Head Boy Eddie Bones stops in front of us. "Bloody hell Rohan, didn't they ever tell you why it's illegal to become an animigus?"

Rohan pales, mortified and tries to twist around to see what Eddie's talking about.

"Shut up Eddie!" Ophelia shouts, angrier than I've ever seen her before. "Get over here and help us before he starts blowing fire!"

Rohan opens his mouth to protest but to his horror smoke comes out. Eddie's eyes widen and he quickly takes Rohan's arm from me, taking my former place at his side.

"I don't understand. What's happening to him?" I nervously blurt out as I jog to keep up with them.

"He's turning into a dragon," Ophelia whispers probably so Rohan won't hear her and panic. His hands are starting to turn into claws.

"I know but how-"

"Polyjuice," Ophelia interrupts me, clearly already having it all thought out.

"I thought that only worked for human transfiguration," I object.

"It does, but if you add an animal hair, or a nail or scale from an animal, well, as you can see…" Ophelia trails off, shooting an anxious look at her friend who's got black ridges growing out of his back now.

"Why was he drinking polyjuice?" I wonder, but I already know the answer. Of course, it's all making sense now. There was only one case I knew of where someone had taken polyjuice potion in the school and obviously they had some left over.

"They spiked his drink," Ophelia supplies, unnecessarily. She doesn't have to say who, the way she avoids my eyes and hurries Rohan past me says it all.

"Potter!" I hiss.

I'm going to murder that bastard.

Far behind me, down another corridor, the Great Hall doors swing open, but I can still hear him laughing,

"Remember that time that Evans said that she'd rather go out with a Giant Squid than me? Now, she's moved on from the Giant Squid and decided to date dragons instead!"

Though they're far away and out of sight, I can hear them all laughing and chortling at James's oh-so-clever joke all at the expense of Rohan and I. The only thing that stops me from running back there and smashing my fist into his face is Rohan's tail. He must have heard James too, because his now massive spiked tail swings back wildly, knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground hard and I relish the pain.

It gives me a good excuse for the tears in my eyes.

*

* * *

I sat in the Hospital Wing all day with Rohan. The curtains caught on fire and I lost count of the number of times that I got on the wrong end of Rohan's spiked tail, but I couldn't leave him. It's my fault that they turned him into a monster. If I hadn't been trying to make James jealous none of this would've happened. I think Ophelia blames me. She's barely said a word to me the whole time she was here and we sat together for hours until she left for dinner. She probably thinks I'm just stringing Rohan along, and in a way I probably was up until I saw what a bloody bastard James could be. Now, I'm just miserably confused.

"Lily?" Rohan whispers.

I lean forward and take his hand. He stopped breathing fire a while ago, his wings are gone, his tail's shrunk, but the partial transformation into dragon form took a lot out of him. Fortunately we got him to the infirmary soon enough so that most of the damage could still be reversed without much difficulty. Ophelia said that the transformation could have had lasting effects depending on how much they gave him, and judging from Rohan's reaction, they gave him an awful lot.

"Potter did this to me, didn't he?" he inquires sadly.

I nod, avoiding his eyes.

"He's really hung up on you isn't he?" he tries to laugh, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Eddie told me Potter would _Avada Kedavra_ me if I even looked at you, but I guess I thought he was exaggerating."

"I'm sorry Rohan," I whisper and my voice threatens to crack.

"You were so pretty though that I couldn't help but start to fancy you. Now, though I'm beginning to wonder if maybe that was a mistake…"

I can feel the tears burning in my eyes, as I swallow a sob.

"Listen Lily," Rohan says, closing his other hand over mine, his tone turning serious.

Oh, no. I don't like that tone of voice. I may not know much about relationships but if some jealous ex tried to turn me into a dragon, I don't think I'd want to stick around much longer no matter how sweet or nice or cute the poor bloke might be. He's going to break up with me and we haven't even started going out yet. Stinking Potter. He ruins everything.

"Do you fancy James?" Rohan asks me, solemnly.

I look at Rohan with his horns which still haven't gone away and probably won't for another day or two Madam Pomfrey said. I see James in my mind with Tiffany, smirking and winking at me as he pulls away from her. I hear him laughing mercilessly at Rohan, and his joke about me dating dragons echoes through my mind. I thought James had changed. I thought he was becoming someone that I could fancy, even fall in love with. But now, staring at Rohan, I think I was wrong.

"No," I say, with only a little bit of hesitation. "I don't fancy Potter."

"Good," Rohan says with a relieved smile. "I'll have no qualms about burning him to a crisp," he quips.

I laugh weakly at his joke.

"Hey, I heard you had a thing for dragons, and I was wondering if you'd still consider dating one?" he wonders, wiggling his eyebrows.

I pause for a long moment, questioning Rohan's sanity. My crazy stalker just tried to turn him into a freaking dragon and he still wants to date me? The smart thing would be to let Rohan go his own way. If I let him go now though, I'll just be giving James exactly what he wants. And besides Rohan's a nice guy, doesn't he deserve a chance? Don't I deserve a chance?

"Alright," I say, nodding finally. "But just this one time. I don't want to get a reputation for dating animals…" I grin.

"Don't worry I'll tell everyone you're dating an animagus," Rohan assures me, jokingly.

I giggle and let him kiss my cheek.

*

* * *

Madam Pomfrey kicked me out of the infirmary once Rohan fell asleep. After my last prolonged stay in the infirmary, I wasn't about to protest. Hope's right. That woman is scary. I give the password to the sleepy Fat Lady and let myself into the empty common room. Or at least I thought it was empty until I saw James Potter emerging from an armchair facing the portrait hole.

"Lily," he says, arresting my step. Merlin, I hate the way he makes my name sound so beautiful. By the time I figure out how to move my feet again James has already crossed the room and is blocking my path to the dormitories.

I look at his face just long enough to see the regret, the anger, the sadness, and the heartbreak that's still there in his now gloomy brown eyes and the tired lines in his forehead. And then after seeing all that, I stupidly try and walk away.

"Go away James," I tell him in a shaky voice that gives me away.

"Lily, just hear me out!" James pleads with me, stepping in front of me when I attempt to go around him.

"No!" I shake my head, furiously.

I try to push past him, but he moves with me and I end up running into his solid, muscled chest. For a split second I consider wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning into his warm embrace as if nothing had happened. As if by hugging him I could make all the bad memories of mistakes we made go away. But some things just can't be changed.

"I'm sorry!" he blurts out.

"No. You're not! If you ever lay a hand on Rohan again, I'll kill you!" I shout at him shrilly and I feel everything breaking apart within me. There's a lump in my throat that never quite went away and now it's threatening to choke me. I take a useless swipe at his chest with my fist but James doesn't even flinch.

"I'm so sorry!" he apologizes desperately.

"Shut up!" I try to cover my ears as a tiny sob escapes my throat, but he keeps going and so I cry.

"I never wanted to make you cry!" he continues frantically. "I wasn't trying to hurt you. I don't like him. He's not good enough for you."

"Oh, and you are?" I laugh bitterly as the tears stream down my face.

James shuts up for a moment and then he curses softly and tenderly pulls me into his arms.

"Don't cry Lily. Please, don't cry," he begs me softly, smoothing my hair with a trembling hand.

I can't move. I know I shouldn't, but I let him hold me for a minute as I cry my heart out. I cling to his shirt, as my body heaves with unchecked sobs that after all these weeks finally have their chance to be released. Everything's been building for so long and now finally I can let it all go.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't bear to see another guy with you," James whispers, bending to kiss the top of my head.

"Then you should have thought of that before you started dating Tiffany!" I explode, shoving him away from me as the anger boils up inside me. James's eyes flash as he grabs my arm, pulling me back against his chest.

"You told me you hated me!" he reminds me, his eyes burning deep into mine.

"Maybe I do!" I throw it back in his face but we both know that I don't mean it. I didn't have to say anything to James, he read it in my eyes just like I was able to see it reflected in his.

"You turned me down over and over again. Did you think that I was going to wait for you forever? Did you?" he demands, tightening his hold on me until it's almost painful and yet a part of me is screaming for me to get even closer to him.

"Let go of me," I hiss, squirming in his arms and clawing at his shirt. I don't want to hear anymore. I don't want to feel torn between wanting to snog him and slug him anymore. I want this to stop. "Let me go!" I plead with him, pounding on his chest.

James grabs one of my swinging fists, imprisoning it in his much larger hand. He tries to push me away but I grab a chunk of his shirt, unintentionally yanking his face down to my level.

Before I'm even fully aware of what's happening, our lips crash together in a furious kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck in a strangle hold and run my hands through his impossibly messy hair so hard that I'm practically pulling his hair. He bruises my lips and backs me into the sharp corner of a table. I curse him and respond by clawing his back and biting down hard on his ear. James swears at me as my teeth close down on that sensitive spot and attempts to throw me down onto the sofa which we've finally managed to stumble into. I refuse to move though as the horror of what I'm really doing and who I'm doing it with suddenly sinks in as James's warm hand slips beneath my shirt and under my bra. I gasp as his bold hand makes contact, closing my eyes for the briefest of moments and savoring the feeling.

"We can't do this," I blurt out, breathing heavily.

"Why not?" James demands, though he does take his hand away much to my body's displeasure.

"I have a boyfriend, now," I inform him.

"So?" James asks, and I realize that he's completely serious. Some habits people never grow out of I guess, I muse, shaking my head.

"You have a girlfriend!" I remind him. Who happens to be one of my closest friends, I recall guiltily, though I can't bring myself to say it out loud.

"And?" He raises an eyebrow, still considering me with that same look of annoyance. The passion's still in his eyes and I know that the fury and desire is still lingering all over me as well. That doesn't mean that I should turn my back on my moral compass.

"I have to go," I say, stepping away from him and heading for my dormitory before I decide to change my mind.

"Don't go, Lily." James snags my wrist, trying to pull me back into his arms and back into another snog. His lips bury themselves into the crook of my neck and I shiver. But I can't do this, I can't. It's not right.

"Don't touch me!" I snap, wrenching myself free of him.

"Lily, wait I think you've got the wrong idea-"

"Just stay away from me, James!" I whisper, backing away from him.

"Lily," James says almost pleadingly, as it finally sinks in that I'm walking away from him. "Lily, please."

I turn my back on him and run all the way back to my dormitory. I'm doing the right thing, I tell myself over and over again as the distance between us widens. Maybe James can, but I can't bring myself to hurt Rohan or Tiffany. Rohan deserves a chance. Tiffany deserves comfort. They trust me and I won't break their trust again even if it means that my heart will break all over again.

I crawl into bed and stare at the ceiling through teary eyes.

No one ever said that doing the right thing was easy.

**A/N: Sorry about the delay. I rushed the ending of this chapter I'm not going to lie. It came out differently than I planned though so be happy. Sorry it's wicked late here so I apologize for the grammatical errors but I'm going offline again for a few days so I did my very best to get this up because it's so overdue. I hope you liked it and I would appreciate hearing your thoughts. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. I'm sorry if I didn't respond, I'm exhausted. Please review. **


	34. Nice Guys Always Finish Last

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Summary**_: _Lily has a good time on her date with Rohan. The Marauders start hassling her. Remus and Lily discuss James's feelings for her and Remus attempts to give love advice. Alice and Frank finally get together with a little push from Lily. Grace knocks over the banshee's dressing table and a spyglass disguised as a mirror is found among McLaggen's precious possessions. James and Lily try to make each other jealous with Tiffany and Rohan. In a vicious prank James turns Rohan into a dragon. Lily officially decides to be Rohan's girlfriend and then runs into James in the Common Room. James apologizes. Lily refuses to forgive him, but somehow ends up snogging him. The chapter ends when Lily leaves James, deciding that she can't hurt Rohan and Tiffany.

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 31: Stupid Cupid**_**.**

**A/N: I've had this done for days and I've tried to rewrite this chapter several times, but it's just not happening. So I hope you're not disappointed or upset with me. It's not as long as the last couple, I'm afraid. **

**Chapter 33: Nice Guys Always Finish Last**

_It's not easy to tell the difference between nightmares and reality. It's even harder trying to drag yourself out of one, especially when you can sense that there's something horrible waiting for you at the end of it. _

_I'm running in this one. Running for my life. There's someone pursuing me, crashing along the path behind me. Deadly looking curses blow past me, stirring my hair, but narrowly missing me by the breadth of an inch each time. I can't stop to defend myself though. If I do I might lose sight of the cloaked figure in front of me that's shrinking as I grow wearier. I won't let that happen. I run faster, weaving in and out of the jagged rocks, praying that I'll get there before the close. _

_I catch sight of a massive white, pillared building, with flaring torches and then I plunge into the darkness. _

_I keep moving, stumbling through the shadows, focusing on the flickering light before me. My footsteps echo eerily, nearly drowning out the sound of my pounding heart. I can feel the cold and the darkness closing in around me, threatening to suffocate me but I can't stop. I won't stop. Not until I reach him. _

_We descend into the darkness, stumbling down damp staircases, blasting through doorways. I'm barely keeping up with him. I can feel the lack of oxygen getting to me. My lungs scream for air, threatening to burst as my limbs grow heavy and sluggish. Fortunately the object of my chase slows up ahead, pointing his torch this way, revealing a room full of doors that is all too familiar. _

_I'm back in the mausoleum. _

_Fear grips my chest and I say something that is lost. For just then he lifts his hand and presses it against the nearest door. It opens, unleashing a horrible bone chilling moan. _

"_JAMES!" I scream, running for him. _

"_Lily?" He whips around, seeing me for the first time, but it's too late. _

_The doors slam shut around us and a cloud of darkness engulfs him…_

"Lily."

I bolt upright, knocking the book on my chest to the floor with a _BANG_! I look around the dark room wildly, trying to figure out where I am and whether I'm still stuck in the midst of that hellish nightmare.

"It was just a dream, Lily," a calm voice whispers reassuringly, as the smoldering coals in the fireplace come to life once more, glowing just enough so that I can see that I'm not in the dark mausoleum but sitting on the sofa in the common room.

I close my eyes and swallow hard, taking deep breathes in an effort to regulate my frantically beating heart. It was just a dream, I repeat in my head. But it had been so real! That bone chilling moan, was exactly like the one that I heard months ago when I had entered the mausoleum with Grace, Sirius, and James except it was worse because it had been followed by that cold, suffocating cloud of darkness… Just the memory of the nightmare causes me to tremble.

"You're safe now," he whispers. A warm hand lightly brushes the damp hair from my perspiring forehead, tucking it behind my ear. I shiver and lean into him. He carefully wraps his arm around me, just as the familiar intoxicating scent of his cologne washes over me, and I realize exactly who I'm with and what I'm doing. I open my eyes, already knowing what I'll find.

"James!" I cry out, recoiling. I pull back from him, blushing furiously.

"Sorry, you looked like you were having a nightmare so I woke you," James apologizes. Moving his arm from my shoulders to the back of the couch, he looks away.

"Oh… thanks," I say, lamely after a very prolonged pause.

We sit rigidly on the small sofa, side by side for a moment. I'm sitting on the edge, leaning away from him. James is slouched behind me, but I can tell that he's just as uncomfortable as I am. It's been weeks since we last spoke to one another, maybe months. Ever since James tried to turn my boyfriend Rohan Corner into a dragon, things haven't been the same. It was a nasty prank. One of many, though thankfully the last few (before I finally slapped him in front of everyone in the Great Hall and Grace "spoke" to him) were harmless in comparison. I think the real reason why this is so awkward and uncomfortable though is because it's the first time we've touched since we snogged in this very spot…

I blush as my body automatically responds to the memory, and push it to the back of my mind. I have a wonderful boyfriend, for Merlin's sake, who treats me a lot better than jealous, selfish, bullying James Potter.

"Here." James drops something into my lap, jarring me out of my thoughts. I look down and find my book that I must have knocked to the floor when I woke up.

"Thanks," I curtly thank him again, delicately tracing the lettering on the spine of "_An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry_". I had finally managed to remove the jinx on the temperamental book, with a little bit of help from Hope who's always looking for an opportunity to show off her superior magical skills. Unfortunately the book proved to be worthless. Like Rohan predicted, it was filled with fantastical legends that were mildly amusing because they were so farfetched and complete nonsense. It's the kind of stuff that Ophelia's fiancé would write about in _The Quibbler,_ so I have no idea why someone would consider it so important that a defensive jinx was necessary. I wasn't about to let go of it though. Ophelia told me to hold on to it, and according to Remus, Wilkes and Zabini nearly demolished the library in their search for this particular book.

Some things just don't make any sense. Take James Potter for example. One minute he's trying to make my life a living hell, and the next…

"You – uh – okay, now?" he asks, clearing his throat.

"Fine," I answer in a voice that comes out more rude and snappish than I intended. After nearly two months of holding this grudge, being cold toward him became routine. I feel only a slight twinge of guilt as I hear him get up from his seat on the sofa and prepare to leave me in the usual stony silence.

"What was it about?" His voice floats back to me, as if the words came out before he could stop them.

"Hmmm?" I lift my head and look up at him. It's the first time I've taken the time to really look at him in a long time. The face in the firelight that I see now surprises me. He looks like he just woke up from a nightmare of his own. There are dark circles around his eyes as if he hasn't been sleeping, his face is thinner as if he lost some weight, he's paler, and his hair is messier than usual as if he worriedly ran his hand through it one too many times.

"What was the nightmare about?" he repeats.

_You_, I think to myself.

"I don't remember," I lie, turning my back on him to gather my things. James knows I'm lying but chooses not to say anything. What right does he have to know what I'm dreaming about anyway? I repack my book bag and turn around to find him still staring at me.

"What?" I ask, wishing he wouldn't do that. His gaze unnerves me. I feel like he can look right through my eyes and see everything that I'm feeling and thinking. It's so unsettling.

James steps toward me, lifting his hand as if he's going to touch my hair again. At the last second though, he pulls back and runs his fingers through his hair instead.

"Tiffany told me about the Bewitching Spyglass," he finally says, completely changing the subject. I'd caught Grace and Tiffany fooling around with it the other day when the banshee was out. Apparently you could use it to pick up muggle television stations and since muggle technology doesn't work in the castle, even I found myself fascinated and playing with the highly illegal object on numerous occasions.

"It's McLaggen's," I explain, shrugging.

"I know, Tiff told me," he sighs. "Look Lily, I don't think anyone should be using it. Maybe you could steal it and give it to me or-"

"James Potter, you're unbelievable!" I laugh loudly, interrupting him. "Let me get this straight, you want me to nick something that's not mine and then give it to you, just so that you can pull your stupid pranks!? You're a complete idiot if you think for one second that I'm-"

"Will you just let me explain!?" James grabs my wrists, clamping down on them so hard that I'm forced to look at his face. What little color he had left in it has drained away, making him look frighteningly pale in the waning light of the dying fire. Momentarily shocked, I shut up for the split second that James needs to grab my attention.

"I got an owl from my parents this morning," he explains hurriedly, lowering his voice to a whisper. He shoots a nervous glance over his shoulder and then moves us away from the staircase. "A healer at St. Mungos was killed."

"That's terrible," I whisper, wondering why James is telling me this. The pages of the _Daily Prophet_ were filling up with more mysterious disappearances and unusual accidental sudden deaths. Some of them like the Adam's murder could not be written off as anything but a cold blooded murder at the hands of Death Eaters. As for the rest of them though, under the new Minister, they were certainly doing their best to cover things up and keep the wizarding world calm.

"Lily," James says in a barely audible voice. He steps closer to me, pressing his lips against my ear. I strongly suspect that this isn't necessary, until he begins to explain, "The healer that was killed was in charge of Hope's case."

My chest constricts in fear for the somewhat crazy woman who is James's aunt and my best friend's mother (though she has no idea), and who has become one of my good friends in the past few months that we spent together here.

"They know she's here," I whisper.

"If they don't already know she's here, they will soon," James breathes into my ear. He holds me at arm's length for a moment, waiting for my reaction. My eyes snap to his and lock. He's worried, and now I am too. Whether we like it or not, we're still in this together. I pull back a step, reeling with the responsibility that I had forgotten about until now. Immediately James lets go of me.

"Don't breathe a word of this to anyone," he begs, brushing past me and continuing on to the staircase.

I close my eyes, taking a moment before spinning back around and calling after him,

"James."

He stops at the bottom of the staircase, gripping the railing. I can see the tension in his back, and the exhaustion in his face suddenly makes sense. I may never believe him capable of ever truly loving me, but I can see that he loves his family fiercely and would do anything to protect them. I want to go to him and take him in my arms and show him that he's not in this alone and that I will be there to fight with him every step of the way. But I can't.

"I'll take care of it, I promise," I reassure him. Words will just have to do this time. Hopefully it will be enough.

He quivers, as some of the tension leaves his body and he relaxes slightly.

"Thanks, Lily," he says gratefully, climbing the stairs with a lighter step.

"Goodnight, James," I say softly, heading back to my own dormitory with a weight on my shoulders that wasn't there before.

*

* * *

"Good morning flower," Rohan greets me with a quick peck on the lips as he slides into the seat across from me at our regular lunch time. He reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. I smile and attempt to give him my attention, though my mind is still wrapped up in the conversation that I had with James last night in the common room.

"I'm sorry I had to abandon you again last night," he apologizes. Rohan and I had been studying in the Gryffindor common room, but Rohan had left early because he was tired.

I brush it aside with a dismissive wave of my hand.

"Don't worry about it, I fell asleep."

Rohan nods, giving me a quick scrutinizing look. I wait for him to comment on the dark circles around my eyes like Grace and Hope did this morning. I wasn't able to sleep after I spoke with James and it shows. Rohan though, decides not to say anything or perhaps he doesn't even notice the change in my appearance. He reaches for a plate but I grab his wrist.

"Let's eat outside," I suggest, eyeing the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, which reflected an unusually bright and clear day for the normally rainy month of April. I could use some fresh air to clear my head and it had been a long time since Rohan and I had done anything other then study or eat together in the Great Hall.

"I wish I could, flower," Rohan sighs wistfully with a rueful smile. "But I already promised Ophelia I'd meet her in the library. Remember our N.E.W.T.s are only forty one days away and then I have to take my healer exam in sixty five days, and you know how important it is for me to do well on both of those exams in order to get into the best healing program-"

"I know," I interrupt him, patting his hand in understanding.

I do understand. In the past month Rohan was studying more and more frequently. I couldn't blame him though. I knew that if I had my N.E.W.T.s this year I'd be studying like a nut too, and I had heard from several students that the healing exam was insanely difficult. Usually I studied with him in an effort to make sure that I secured the top grades. After all, I'd still like to be Head Girl. But on this bright and sunshiny day, after so many weeks of rain, locking up in the library seemed like nothing short of a death sentence.

"I just thought we could take a little break from studying," I say, smiling and shrugging.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I just don't have the time," he apologizes again, shaking his head sadly. I nod and look away so he won't see the disappointment in my eyes.

"Hey," he says, reaching across the table to lay a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you go find Grace and see if she'll eat with you? You haven't spent much time with her in a while, and the sun could do you some good. You look awfully pale," he teases me, rubbing my shoulder.

I swat his hand away from me, pretending to be offended. He laughs and seizes the hand, pulling me in close for another quick kiss.

"You know that I love you, Lily," he says, suddenly serious.

My heart skips a beat, my breath coming up short as my mouth goes dry. As an adolescent I had fantasized about this moment; when a boy would say those three magical words to me. Now, just two months after we started dating I'm hearing them for the first time from Rohan. Instead of the happiness and joy that I had always imagined myself feeling, I feel nothing but shock and confusion.

Rohan looks to me expectantly. He's waiting for me to tell him that I love him too, I realize. But I can't seem to find my tongue. I sit there, staring stupidly back at him, wishing suddenly that I was outside and far, far away from him. Those sad dark eyes of his bore into me, making me squirm uncomfortably beneath his penetrating gaze.

"Hey, Rohan!"

Rohan immediately lets go of me, swiveling around on the bench to face the Head Girl Mary Prewett and the Head Boy Eddie Bones.

"We're going to the library - Oh, good golly, I didn't even see you there Lily!" Mary apologizes, upon noticing me.

"Sorry, mate, didn't realize you were _preoccupied_," Eddie says, winking at me. I blush and look down. "If I had known you were _entertaining_ Prefect Evans, which I'm sure you weren't because otherwise I would have to dock points from you two, snogging like a couple of -" Mary claps a hand over Eddie's mouth before he can embarrass us further. But my face is probably redder than a ripened tomato by this point.

"We were just leaving. Weren't we Eddie?" she says sweetly, though she's glaring daggers at him as she drags him away.

"Wait, I'm heading to library too. I'll come with you guys," Rohan offers, getting to his feet. He grabs a sandwich to go and shoulders his bulging book bag.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lily," he says, waving goodbye to me as he runs to catch up with Mary and Eddie.

"Bye," I mumble, watching as the three of them rush off to the library, leaving me alone at the Ravenclaw table with no one to talk to. Fortunately I don't have to sit dwelling on my loneliness for very long.

"Hey, look at this loser sitting by herself again," a familiar voice jokes.

I grin as my best friend appears behind me with a mischievous smile and surprisingly Hope. I'm still not quite used to the gradual evolving of Hope and Grace's stormy relationship at Hogwarts. When Hope first got here Grace was jealous of the close relationship that Hope had with James, myself, and especially Sirius. She was also highly suspicious of the fact that Hope just appeared out of nowhere and yet no one asked any questions (thanks to several confusing and notice-me-not charms that Professor Dumbledore and James's parents had placed on her). For a while Grace was absolutely convinced that Hope was a Death Eater. In the past month or so, a change had come over both of them. Grace finally realized that Hope probably wasn't a Death Eater in disguise and that despite the oddly close relationship between her and Sirius, she probably wasn't dating him. As for Hope, well, it was always tough to figure out what was going on in her head, especially when it came to Grace. But I had noticed a definite difference in the way Hope looked at Grace ever since she discovered that Grace was Mark Adam's daughter.

"I'd rather sit alone than have to sit with you," I pretend to scoff, turning my back on them. "Why don't you go back to the Gryffindor table and leave me to talk to myself."

"We can't," Hope sighs. "Grace was going to kill someone if she sat there any longer."

"What?" I ask, turning to Grace.

"We got stuck sitting next to those two fifth years, you know the PDA couple," Grace explains, grimacing.

I wince in sympathy as Grace shudders.

"And then Alice and Frank were making googly eyes at one another again," Grace complains, making a face. "And if Tiffanella asked for one more kissiepoo from her precious Jamsiepee-"

"Enough!" I cry out, feeling my stomach churn unpleasantly at the thought of Tiffany and James snogging at the breakfast table. "I need some air," I gasp, no longer hungry after that nauseating scene Grace just painted for me.

"Come on, let's go outside," Grace suggests, stuffing a sandwich into my hand though food is the very last thing I want to think about right now. Tiffanella and Jamsiepee and their kissiepoos make me want to vomit.

Once we're outside though, I immediately start to feel better. The sun's out and there isn't a single cloud in the blue sky for miles. We amble across the grass, talking excitedly about the weather until an amusing spectacle in the courtyard catches our attention. Despite the chill, Debbie McLaggen and a few of her ditzy Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff minions are dressed in their bikinis, attempting to get an early start on their tans. A group of younger boys are ogling at them, practically drooling. And with them is the slightly senile Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Nickers, gaping like a goldfish and openly staring.

The three of us snicker, and just when we thought the scene couldn't get any better, Professor McGonagall comes out and all hell breaks loose. She sentences all five of the girls to detention, transfigures their bikinis into habits that a muggle nun would wear, and orders them to keep them on for the rest of the day as part of their punishment. When Grace, Hope, and I left, McGonagall was reprimanding the blushing and stammering DADA professor, and turning a deaf ear to McLaggen's protests that her father the Minister of Magic would be hearing about this.

"McGonagall is my hero!" I declare, laughing as Grace and I lead Hope to our favorite spot beside the lake.

"Hear, hear!" Grace cries, clambering up onto a rock and thrusting her sandwich into the air as if it's a drink. I mirror her movements, raising an imaginary glass and we sit down giggling to finish our lunch. It's only temporary though. I know by tomorrow, Grace will be complaining that McGonagall is the devil and that no one should give out as much homework as she does.

"So, Lily," Grace says, abruptly changing the subject. "Why'd your boyfriend run off on you today?"

"He was late for a study session," I answer, brushing the crumbs from my lap.

"I told you not to date Ravenclaws," Grace admonishes me, rolling her eyes.

"What's so bad about Ravenclaws?" I ask, taking offense. The sorting hat had seriously considered putting me in Ravenclaw.

"Well, first of all they're boring," Grace says.

"And second of all, their idea of a date is a day in the romance section of the library," Grace and Hope joke in unison. Realizing that they both said the same thing at the same time, they stare at each other.

"Weird," Hope attempts to laugh it off and is the first to look away.

"Yea…" Grace says, looking at Hope suspiciously through narrowed eyes.

"Well, I don't care," I tell them, trying to grab Grace's attention before she has time to come up with some new excuse to think that Hope is a Death Eater specifically sent to kill her. "Rohan loves me," I inform them.

"I'm sure he does," Grace says sarcastically.

"He told me so," I repeat stubbornly.

"Wait." Grace puts down the sandwich that she had just been about to bite into, her demeanor abruptly changing. "He said "I love you"?"

I nod.

"And what did you say?" Hope asks me.

"Nothing," I answer honestly.

"You didn't say _anything_?" Grace's eyes widen, the sandwich completely forgotten by now.

"Well, no, we got interrupted," I explain.

"But you weren't going to say it back, were you?" Hope says sagely, giving me one of those looks that prove she's much older than the sixteen year old body she's temporarily trapped inside of.

"Er…" I shred the rest of my sandwich into tiny pieces, barely aware of what I'm doing. "Rohan's a great guy. He's perfect. Handsome, brilliant, sweet, loving-"

"Lily, it's a yes or no question. Do you love him or not?" Grace interrupts me impatiently, cutting straight to the point.

"No," I admit guiltily in a small voice. "Not yet. We've only been dating for two months, it's too early to tell, you know and perhaps with time… I mean you never know, right?" I look up at Hope and Grace hopefully for reassurance that these things will change and that I will learn to love Rohan with time. I receive two identical looks, a mixture of sympathy, pity, and disappointment.

"It could happen, right?" I desperately ask again.

Finally, Hope makes an effort to smile.

"Of course, some things just take time," she agrees, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly. "No one expects you to fall in love right away."

"Or fall out of love," Grace mutters, just loud enough for me to hear. I blush and look down.

She knows I'm still hung up on her cousin. But I'm not. Not really. He's a complete git. There's no one that can make my heart stop like he can, but he's an arse. I'm much better off with Rohan, even if he is a boring Ravenclaw that takes me on dates in the library. When it comes to matters of the heart, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Am I right?

"Hey, look there's a dog!" Hope suddenly laughs, pointing.

I follow her finger and see a big black dog bounding across the grass. Grace jumps down from the rock and whistles for the dog. The dog stops and his ears perk up. He sniffs the air and gives us one of those canine grins as he redirects his course and trots toward us. I reach out a hand as he approaches, offering it to the dog to sniff. But he's not interested in anything except Gracie who gets down on her knees in front of him. He licks her hand and in one swift jump he's knocked her down and is slobbering all over her, giving her "kisses".

"Whoa! Down boy!" Grace laughs, shoving the dog off of her. The dog's huge though, weighing at least a hundred pounds by the looks of it, but Grace manages to free herself of him with only a little difficulty when the dog becomes distracted by something else.

"Hey!" I cry out as the dog leaps onto the rock beside me, sticking his muzzle into Grace's half eaten lunch. I make a grab for him, but I'm not fast enough. He jumps down with the sandwich in his teeth.

"The stupid mutt's got my sandwich!" Grace yells. "HEY! Get back here you dumb dog!" She's on her feet and running after him, before Hope or I can stop her or convince her that it's a lost cause.

"Typical Gracie, she won't even let a dog get past her without hunting him down and making him pay," I laugh, watching as the playful dog leads Grace on a wild goose chase across the lawn. I know she won't give up until she has that sandwich back, even if she can't eat it anymore.

"She gets that from me," Hope observes, smiling fondly like a proud parent.

I almost spit out the last bite of my sandwich as her words resound in my head again and again. Because the thing is, Hope is Grace's mother, only up until now I didn't think she knew that. Swallowing, I turn to look at Hope and find her watching Grace with that same smile. There's pride in her gaze, and something sad in her eyes that can only mean one thing.

"How long have you known?" I whisper, shocked that she hadn't mentioned it before. But now I know she knows. It was silly to think that she wouldn't find out on her own.

"I found out right after you told me she was Mark's daughter and that Mark was dead. I went to the library and looked up the obituary in the _Daily Prophet_. Grace and I had just gotten into that huge row, and I tried to pretend that she was Agrippa's, but I think a part of me always knew…" she tapers off, laughing softly as Grace makes a lunge for the dog but misses and winds up covered in mud and raging mad.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Grace screeches, lurching to her feet and tearing after the dog.

"Are you mad that we didn't tell you?" I ask softly. Are you mad that_ I_ didn't tell you? That's what I'm really asking her. I sort of lied to her by allowing her to continue to think that Mark had married someone else and that Grace was their daughter. It wasn't exactly easy.

"No." Hope shakes her head. "I know it was for the best. If I had found that out before my memories started to return who knows how badly I would have reacted."

"You're remembering?" I gasp.

"Ever since I got here everything's been coming back to me slowly. It's not always clear and it's not always in chronological order, but I know it's there now," Hope answers, with a strained smile.

"Aren't you glad to have your memories back?" I blurt out, noticing the shadow that passed over her face.

"Of course, it's like coming home again, finding yourself all over again, and Mark and Chris…" she trails off, her voice catching on the names of her late husband and son. "But it's hard too, knowing that you've lost them all over again."

I feel sorry for her. Looking into her eyes I see the answer to another question that I had been worrying over.

"You're not going to tell Gracie, are you?" I realize.

Hope bites down on her lip, clenching her hands in her lap. She takes a deep shaky breath and lets it out slowly.

"No, at least not until everything's over…" she trails off, but I can tell that she knows that this is only the beginning and there's seemingly no end in sight. She might never get the chance to tell Grace the truth. And yet she's willing to take that risk because she loves her.

"It's worth it just being able to spend time with her, even if she does think half the time that I'm a Death Eater that's shagging Sirius and plotting her death," Hope adds on a lighter note, earning a guilty chuckle from me.

"So, you're staying at Hogwarts?" I inquire hopefully.

"Until the end of the year at least," Hope confirms. "I still need to recover some of my more important memories but after that, who knows?" she shrugs, scanning the Hogwarts grounds with a furrowed brow.

"Where'd Grace and the dog go? Do you think Grace fell down again and hurt herself?" she asks, rising to her feet to look for them. I resist the temptation to roll my eyes. Mothers, they're always worrying.

"I'm sure she's fine," I reassure her, patting her arm. "But come on, I think they were headed toward the Quidditch Pitch," I recall, humoring her.

Hope climbs off the rock and heads toward the Quidditch Pitch at a rapid pace. I'm practically jogging and I still can barely keep up with her long legs (though she's not quite as tall as her daughter). We don't even make it all the way there before we hear the barking. Something's wrong though. A deep, menacing growl, confirms the fact that something's gone terribly wrong. When Hope and I get to the top of the hill overlooking the pitch, we can immediately see why.

The dog ran into the Slytherin quidditch team coming off the pitch after a particularly bad practice. My would be rapists Wilkes and Mulciber and Tiffany's slimeball ex Zabini have him cornered and their wands are out. I can see from their faces that they mean to have some "fun". I've learned from experience that when a Slytherin wants to have "fun", it usually comes in some form or manner of torture.

"Where's Grace?" Hope asks me anxiously, but I barely hear her.

"STOP!" I shout, running down the hill toward the poor defenseless animal. I don't care whether he stole Grace's sandwich and Grace was threatening to kill him herself. There's something so familiar about that dog, but I can't put my finger on it.

"LET HIM GO!" I order, angrily firing a series of warning sparks out of my wand. Zabini doesn't get out of my way fast enough, and I manage to harmlessly set some of his hair on fire. He squeals like a like a little girl, and the hex meant for the caged dog goes awry, hitting one of his teammates Wilkes instead. Wilkes cries out, clapping a hand to his cheek where the spell hit him. Taking advantage of the moment, I dive for the dog and free it from the Slytherin's hands. When Wilkes pulls his hand away I can see that he's been burned so badly that the skin is boiling and blistering. And that he's enraged.

"You're going to pay for that mudblood!" Wilkes snarls, launching himself at me. But he doesn't get very far for just then Grace reappears and thrusts herself in front of me.

"You better take that back!" My best friend growls, brandishing her wand. Her blue eyes flash dangerously as she fearlessly steps closer to him, backing him into the sea of green and silver snakes that seem to hiss back at her. They press closer on all sides, like a boa constrictor wrapping itself around its prey, tighter and tighter until breathing doesn't come easy and panic begins. My heart sinks when I realize that we're badly outnumbered and trapped with no way out. Swallowing hard, I grab Grace's elbow and attempt to pull her away.

"Grace don't," I plead with her, trying to hang on to her and the snarling and growling dog that's almost as big as I am and almost as eager for a fight as Gracie. "It's not worth it."

"Better listen to the filthy mudblood, Adams," Wilkes suggests with a malicious grin, "Or you'll wind up just like your parents and your little brother. Crying and begging for mercy as they died a slow and painful death…"

"GRACE NO!"

But Grace ignores me, unleashing her deadly temper and letting the first spell fly. It never hits Wilkes because he ducks out of the way and another Slytherin's nasty looking hex knocks her flat on her back.

"_Gracie_!" I let go of the dog to fire a stunning spell at the culprit and see to Grace. But instead of running off, the stupid mutt bares his teeth and launches himself at the first person he comes into contact with – Mulciber. Mulciber snarls and takes a swing at him with his beater bat but he misses and the dog takes a bite out of his leg.

"GET DOWN!" someone shouts behind me.

Acting on instinct, I throw myself onto the ground beside Grace. A wave of unbearable heat passes over me, and I watch as the Slytherins scatter and a couple go down screaming as they desperately try to put out their flaming garments. Hope follows her powerful fire conjuring spell, leaping over me and chasing after them.

"Touch her again and I'll kill you!" she threatens Wilkes, stepping up to duel with him.

"I'll touch whomever I please," Wilkes says, leering at me, "A little fire isn't going to stop me," he laughs at Hope. "_Conflagrio_!" he points his wand at the flames licking at the hems of the Slytherins cloaks and the grass around us. With a sweeping motion of his wand he sucks them into the tip of his wand like a vacuum and pours them back down upon Hope, Grace, and I.

"_FINITE_!" I scream, pointing my wand desperately at the flames descending down upon us. The flames go up into smoke and vanish before they touch Hope, as the counter curse effectively cancels all spells currently in effect.

Unfortunately the Slytherins, now that they're no longer on fire, are able to pull themselves together and attack. Hope and Wilkes are dueling furiously, hurling hexes and curses at each other and moving so quickly that they almost seem like a flashing blur. A scratched, bitten, and limping Mulciber finally manages to knock our brave canine defender out with a cheap shot from another beater's bat. I revive Grace but she's a bit disoriented after the blow she took, though she still manages to stun one of the Slytherins and send out a constant volley of odd jinxes. I manage to stun another one and immobilize three of them, but the spell is only temporary. I'm back to back with Grace, throwing out stunners, full body binds and any charm that comes to mind, but there's too many of them.

Suddenly, the whirling figures of Wilkes and Hope are right beside us. I can see Hope, grim faced and focused. She pushes her long dark hair out of her fiery brown eyes, panting as she hurls another vicious looking curse at Wilkes. She could have easily been Grace's twin. Wait a minute.

"Ho – HANNAH!"

Grace swears as she nearly takes a boiling hex that I could have easily deflected if I hadn't been distracted by Hope.

"Lily! Watch -" she trails off abruptly, stiffening behind me as her blue eyes go wide with disbelief. "I'm hallucinating. It can't be. I'm delirious," she whispers, shaking her head and slowly breaking down. I wrap one of my arms around her and try my best to undo the damage but it's too late. Luckily, the other Slytherins also have slowed their assault, taken aback by the transformation that "Hannah Smith" has undergone in a matter of minutes.

"I thought you were dead," Wilkes exclaims, momentarily shocked as Hope dodges and evades another unforgivable curse.

"Not yet," Hope responds, grinning smugly.

"Well, you will be soon," Wilkes says, recovering his composure quickly and smirking. "_Adflictacius_!"

"MOM!" Grace yells, escaping me and running toward her mother. I watch in horror as the curse hits Grace as if in slow motion. I open my mouth to scream but no sound comes out. Unprepared and seeing nothing but her mother, Grace cries out as the first spasms of invisible pain begin to rock her body. She falls, writhing to the ground and then an instant later goes unnaturally still. Hope crumples helplessly beside her; the duel forgotten entirely. Wilkes has hit upon her weakness, her Achilles heel.

"Gracie!" she wails, taking her daughter's limp body into her arms. My eyes are glued to the lifeless body of my best friend but I've gone completely numb. The Slytherins jostle me out of the way, turning on their heels and running like cowards before a professor comes and sees what they've done...

No. I can hear the thrum of my heart drumming in my ear, growing louder and louder as the truth threatens to sink in. No. No. _NO_.

"While killing you will be enjoyable," Wilkes chuckles sadistically. "I thought letting you watch your daughter die would be much more entertaining... _Hope Adams_."

* * *

**A/N**: **Yes, I know it's not that late but it's not insanely long either. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME. I tried to rewrite it, but I just can't. This had to happen. And I bet all of you are like where's James??? Um, yea, about that… I originally had James rushing to Lily's rescue instead of Grace, but it's a little predictable, it didn't feel right, and well, as you can tell from the ending of this chapter, I had my reasons for putting Grace front and center. This part's been in my head for so long, well not this exact same scene but a very similar one and it was always just Grace, Lily, and Hope. Well there were other people too but for some odd reason James was never there. Trust me I tried putting him in, but it just doesn't fit. Don't worry though Lily's going to need James desperately in the next chapter. Adflictacius is a curse of my own invention, as for what it does, well I think you can guess… It comes from a latin word that means pain. More details in the next chapter.** **THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! I responded to most of the signed reviews I think, but thanks also to bittersweet (You're right, Rohan's not completely perfect as you can see from this chapter), Nicole, shscheergirl and anyone else who reviewed unsigned. I love all of you, seriously! **


	35. The Ties That Bind

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I can't even afford to buy myself notebooks and have to resort to writing my stories on paper plates and paper bags. So don't sue me because everything (with the exception of the insane plot and some of the weird characters or crazier characteristics of the known characters) belong to J.K Rowling. **

**Summary**_:_ Lily has a nightmare about the mausoleum and James is there to wake her. Two months have passed since James pranked Rohan and Lily agreed to go out with Rohan and they are cold and awkward in each other's presence. James confesses that the healer in charge of Hope's case was killed and they might know where she is. Rohan tells Lily he loves her, Lily admits to Grace and Hope that she doesn't love Rohan. Grace gets her sandwich stolen by a familiar mutt and gives chase. Lily and Hope find the dog surrounded by the Slytherin quidditch team and Lily frees the dog. Grace comes to her rescue, and a fight breaks out. Hope and Wilkes duel and Hope's disguise vanishes, revealing her true identity to Wilkes and everyone present. Wilkes casts a deadly curse on Grace, feeling that it might be more enjoyable to kill Hope's daughter before he kills her.

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 31: Stupid Cupid**_**.**

**A/N: So, this chapter is pretty short, but at least it didn't take me too long, right? I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter but considering I didn't really know where to go after I finished the last one, I guess this came out better than I anticipated. **

* * *

**Chapter 34: The Ties That Bind**

"_**Adflictacius**_!"

"_MOM!" Grace yells, escaping me and running toward her mother. I watch in horror as the curse hits Grace as if in slow motion. Unprepared and seeing nothing but her mother, Grace cries out as the first spasms of invisible pain begin to rock her body. She falls, writhing to the ground and then an instant later goes unnaturally still. Hope crumples helplessly beside her; the duel forgotten entirely. _

"_Gracie!" she wails, taking her daughter's limp body into her arms. My eyes are glued to the lifeless body of my best friend but I've gone completely numb. _

_No. I can hear the thrum of my heart drumming in my ear, growing louder and louder as the truth threatens to sink in. No. No.__** NO**__._

"_While killing you will be enjoyable," Wilkes chuckles sadistically. "I thought letting you watch your daughter die would be much more entertaining... __**Hope Adams**__." _

Hope whimpers like a wounded animal, and cradles Grace in her lap. I stumble over to them, my knees buckling as I collapse on the grass beside them. Hope clings to Gracie possessively, but one of Grace's pale hands limply hangs out at an odd angle that should have been painful if Grace had been conscious. I reach for it, nearly recoiling when I feel how sweaty and fiery hot her palm is. My fingers slip down to her wrist, barely daring to hope – but there it is: a pulse. The blood beats hard and quick against my trembling fingers and I look up at Hope, eagerly, hardly aware of how alarmingly and unnaturally fast Grace's heart is beating.

"She's alive!" I gasp.

"Yes, mudblood," Wilkes laughs cruelly, "but not for much longer. Right now her body is reaching alarming temperatures and her organs are on fire-"

Grace's body suddenly jerks violently in Hope's lap. She arches upward, against her frantic mother, her eyes opening just far enough so that I can see the whites of her eyes, as they roll wildly into the back of her head.

"_Gracie_!" I cry, helping Hope to hold her down as Grace's body shakes as if in some type of seizure. But it's no use. Grace fights against us as her body grows hotter beneath our hands, and the spasms become worse despite Hope's best efforts to apply her wand.

"What have you done Wilkes?" Hope snarls, turning on him, when another one of her healing charms fail to cool Grace's feverish skin.

"_Adflictacius_, a spell of my master's own invention, do you like it, Hope? I hope so, the mudblood's next," he says, and suddenly I feel the tip of a wand pressed to my temple. I automatically freeze, though there's none of the fear that I felt the last time someone tried to kill me. My blood is boiling as the anger returns, and I can feel myself burning up like Grace's poor body.

"Unless of course you wish to tell me where the weapon is now?" he offers, deliberately poking me in the eye with his wand so that I'm forced to flinch.

"You're a fool, Wilkes," Hope growls, her eyes darting from me, to Wilkes, and finally back to linger Grace's now motionless form. "The only person that can help you find that weapon is on her last breath."

My eyes snap to Hope, as the full implications of this statement hits me. Grace knows where the weapon is?

"You're lying," Wilkes hisses, applying pressure to wand at my temple but I can feel his hand twitching and there's serious doubt in his voice.

"Do you really think that I would trust a secret like this to anyone but my heir?" Hope snaps. "Let Lily go and take this spell off of Grace. I'll make her tell you everything, just reverse this damn curse before it's too late and the secret is lost forever."

"If you're lying…" Wilkes hesitates, still not completely convinced. "You could be lying…"

A soft panting moan interrupts him, as Grace convulses, her hands clenching feebly as she draws a rasping, ragged breath that just might be her last.

"NOW, Wilkes, before it's too late!" Hope orders him, her eyes flashing as she holds onto her daughter as if by clinging to her she could keep the life that threatens to leave inside of her.

Wilkes yanks his wand away from me, turning his wand on Gracie. He begins to murmur an incantation, moving his wand in slow circles. I stay where I am transfixed as Grace's body stops shaking and finally goes still. Wilkes lowers his wand and immediately grabs Hope by the scruff of her neck.

"Make her talk!" he commands her, gesturing to the unconscious Gracie.

"I can't make someone that is clearly unconscious talk! Surely, you can see that she needs time to recover and treatment from a healer before she can endure an interrogation. You just lit all her organs on fire-"

"Fine. Evans go get a healer!" he demands, roughly pulling me to my feet and waving his wand so that an invisible wall shimmers into view and a doorway appears just big enough for me to exit. No wonder why no one was coming to help us. Wilkes had us boxed in with a powerful confining charm.

"If you're not back in ten minutes mudblood, I'll kill them both," he warns me and then he shoves me outside, sealing the wall back up behind me.

I clumsily get to my feet, my head spinning with the impact of everything that just took place in the past ten minutes. Ten minutes. I only have ten minutes.

I start to run, but there's no way I'll make it back to the castle in time. I'm running faster than I've ever run in my entire life but the castle seems so far away and –

"Oomf!" I trip over something, tumbling to the ground. I struggle to pull myself back up and discover what I tripped over. It's the dog. That damned dog. Why could they just leave the stupid mutt alone? If they had just left him alone then I wouldn't have said anything and then none of this would have happened. Grace would still be healthy and Hope's identity would have been safe.

Tears that I've been trying to hold back since the moment Grace was struck by the deadly curse, sting my eyes and overcome with compassion I wave my wand over the bloody, matted black fur, praying that the blow he took from Mulciber's bat didn't kill him too. The dog inhales deeply and stretching out its paws, I watch in a stupefied state as the pads and claws are replaced by human fingers and sneakered feet. The ears shrink, the fur vanishes, and a moment later I'm face to face with a very familiar and very human figure.

"Lily," Sirius says, puzzled as he sits up beside me adjusting his half unbuttoned grass stained shirt and his matted, bloody hair. "What happened?"

"You're an animigus," I realize. Now suddenly, it all makes sense. No wonder why the dog was so familiar. I had encountered him in animigus form at the Potter's house as well, keeping an eye on Grace without her actually knowing… I should have known.

"Where's Gracie and Hope?" Sirius asks me, deliberately changing the subject though he doesn't bother to deny it.

Grace. Hope. Ten minutes. It all comes rushing back to me and the tears threaten to spill over once more.

"Wilkes has them! Sirius, he'll kill them if I don't find a healer right now!" I exclaim, scrambling to my feet.

"What?" Sirius jumps up and easily overtakes me. "Lily, what happened? The last thing I remember Mulciber knocked me out."

"There's no time – Grace got hit with an awful curse. Sirius, she'll die if we don't get her a healer and Wilkes needs her alive so he'll kill me and Hope too if I don't get back in time!" I know that my words are all running together in my anxiety and my efforts to reach the castle in time, and that I'm making no sense, but fortunately Sirius caught the important part about Grace being hurt.

"Come on, the infirmary's on the other side of the castle!" Sirius says, grabbing my wrist and redirecting our path. We race back to the castle. Only now do I seem to realize just how big it really is.

"Can we make it there in ten minutes?" I ask, panicking. Actually I had less time than that. I was down to less than five minutes now.

"That door will take us to the library, but wait – I can ask James to get Madam Pomfrey!"

Sirius drops my wrist, quickly reaching into his pocket to pull out the mirror that I had seen him communicate with Remus or James on a few other occasions.

"James!" he yells into it. "JAMES!"

"_Sirius_!"

I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the beautiful sound of James Potter's voice answering back.

"I think they heard you in the States, which is unfortunate since I'm in the library and Corner just glared at me again, probably because a stack of fifty pound healing books just _happened_ to fall on his head-"

"James!" Sirius exclaimed, his face brightening as if he's suddenly been struck by an idea. "Get Corner and meet me outside by the Quidditch pitch right now."

"What?" James and I chorus at the same time.

"Tell him Lily needs him right this instant!" Sirius clarifies.

"Have you lost your mind Padfoot!? You know how much I hate Corner's guts-"

"James, I'm serious!"

"And I'm James!" James quips.

"Shut up!" Sirius yells at him, startling his friend into silence. "This is important!" he begs him, with a look of desperation and anxiety that I've never seen before on his face. "Lily needs him," he repeats unnecessarily, but miraculously these words seem to do the trick.

"Okay, I'll do it. Tell Lily I…" James trails off, and I find myself waiting forever for him to finish that sentence. But he never does. Instead he clears his throat and collects himself. "We'll be there in two minutes."

"What was that all about? I need a healer Sirius, not my boyfriend!" I burst out as soon as he puts the mirror away. For some reason Rohan is the last person I want to see right now.

"Newsflash, your boyfriend is a healer!" Sirius reminds me.

Right. I knew that.

"He's not officially a healer yet," I point out, more to make up for the fact that I completely blanked on the fact that my boyfriend of the past two months has been spending almost every waking minute studying to be a healer. "Maybe we should get Madam Pomfrey."

"Merlin, Lily! Don't you remember that this bloke saved your life on the train back in January!?" Sirius asks me with wide eyes. He shakes his head when he sees that I had in fact forgotten. "James talks about it all the time, the fact that Rohan saved your life. That's the only thing stopping James from ripping Rohan to shreds – if you thought the dragon incident was bad, you should have heard some of his other ideas. Lily, even _I_ thought some of them were a little too cruel." And coming from Sirius Black (who rumor has it once set a monster on a Slytherin, Severus Snape), that was saying something.

"Now, that I think about it perhaps we should get Madam Pomfrey…" Sirius concurs, as worry and anxiety for Gracie creeps back into his voice. "Maybe we should get a professor too, you think?" he suggests, shyly, and I realize that this is the first time in his entire life that these words have come out of the resident troublemaker's mouth.

My stomach churns with fear at the thought of Wilkes with his confinement charm, caging in Grace and Hope and his final threat. Something tells me professors aren't going to be able help us this time.

"Go get Dumbledore or McGonagall," I tell him, taking up his suggestion anyway and wondering why I never thought of it before. "Or anyone – and then get Madam Pomfrey."

"But Gracie, will she be alright?" Sirius asks worriedly.

"I…" I don't know. But the words die on my lips. For the first time Sirius seems to grasp the true gravity of the situation and the color drains out of his face as he comes close to me.

"Look, here they come!" I point Rohan and James out to Sirius, waving them over. But Sirius isn't going to be distracted this time.

"Lily, Gracie's going to be okay, right?" Sirius asks me, seeking reassurance where he won't find any. He grasps my arm almost painfully.

"We'll take care of her," I answer, patting his arm. It's not a lie. It's not. "Hurry, Sirius!" I urge him, gently disengaging myself from him and pushing him towards the castle. I watch him run into the castle and then turn to meet James and Rohan.

"Lily! Are you alright?" Rohan asks me, embracing me in his arms. I look at James over his shoulder. He appears to be turning back toward the castle, but when our eyes meet his face changes from a disgruntled expression to concern.

"Rohan, how much do you know about the effects of an _Adflictacius_ curse?" I ask him desperately, taking his hand and propelling him in the direction of the quidditch pitch where I left Hope and Grace, hopefully still alive. I can hear James following us, rapidly catching up.

A shadow passes over Rohan's face.

"It's dark magic, Lily. The Death Eaters have been using it on their victims. It's an extremely painful death, the body temperature is raised to impossible heights, the blood boils and the organs are basically set on fire…"

"Can you stop it?" I interrupt him impatiently.

"Well, I suppose, yes, you can. If you manage to put the body back into homeostasis, but the damage, it's often irreparable. I only read of one case where they were able to save someone and even then the man died after spending two months in a coma – Lily, why are you asking me all this? And where are we going?" he demands, stopping in his tracks and refusing to go any further.

My eyes catch sight of James, just behind him. The dam finally bursts and the tears stream down my face.

"It's Grace!" I sob, locking eyes with James. He stops short and I look away when I notice the first signs of pain and shock entering his hazel eyes. It only makes it harder for me to explain, seeing my own feelings reflected like a mirror in James's face.

"Gracie got hit by an _Adflictacius_!" I tell Rohan, clutching his hand and dragging him forward so that I won't fall or be tempted to run back and throw myself into James's arms. "Wilkes got her, and he stopped it – but – but- we need a healer!" I implore him, between tears.

Despite his dark complexion, I can tell that Rohan's gone deathly pale. He tightens his hold on my hand, squeezing it hard. But he's calm and collected, and I can see that his mind is already racing through that carefully organized, brilliant mind as he prepares himself for the worse.

"Where is she, Lily?" he asks me quietly.

"Here," I whisper, noticing the shimmer of the barely visible wall of the confinement charm. I steal a look over my shoulder, seeking James's face, but he's gone. Unaware I had drawn Rohan hastily through the walls, leaving James behind. A part of me screams to go back for him, but another part breathes a sigh of relief. At least he's safe.

Wilkes suddenly appears before us, grinning at the sight of Rohan. Rohan stiffens beside me, and shoots me a confused glance. I should have explained, but there wasn't enough time. Guilt twists my stomach and I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have brought him. But Gracie…

"I brought a healer," I tell Wilkes, squeezing Rohan's hand encouragingly.

"It's about time, mudblood, you're lucky I enjoy torturing people or else your friends probably would have been dead a while ago," Wilkes chuckles sadistically, and my blood runs cold at the thought of what he might have been doing with Hope while I was gone or what he would have done if I hadn't gotten here… I brush these thoughts from my mind following him into the confinement box with Rohan.

Grace is still in the same state and looks as if she hadn't moved or been moved since I left her. Hope is hovering over her, but there's an ugly burn on her face that wasn't there before and her shirt has been torn to shreds. She looks up as we come in, her eyes red rimmed and slightly wild, but there's a grim determination there and a blazing fire that I've seen in her daughter's eyes many times.

Rohan does a double take when he sees Hope but thankfully he devotes his whole attention to Gracie once his eyes settle upon her. He kneels down beside his patient, immediately going into healer mode. He takes out his wand and starts checking Grace's vitals. I watch in fascination as he casts a series of spells rapidly but gently. Then he moves his wand in a particularly elaborate swish, murmuring something as he passes it carefully over Grace's entire body. Grace shudders once and then seems to breathe easier.

"I think it's safe to move her to the infirmary now," he concludes gravely. "Madam Pomfrey can decide whether or not she should be sent to St. Mungos immediately or if we should wait to see if she can make it through the night."

Hope and I pale at the solemn diagnosis but it's Wilkes that speaks.

"So, she can be moved now?" he demands impatiently.

"Yes, she'll have to be." Rohan again moves his wand and a stretcher appears beneath Grace. Wilkes does an elaborate flick with his own wand and suddenly a look of annoyance flickers over Rohan's face, displacing the calm tranquility. His eyes dart to Wilkes.

"My wand hand's gone numb," Rohan says, narrowing his eyes at Wilkes. "And I'm stuck to Grace."

"Pity," Wilkes says, twirling his wand. "That won't wear off for a few minutes at least, just enough time to portkey out of here with my precious patient."

Rohan's eyes widen in fear and I try to do the countercurse but it's useless. Whatever Wilkes did to Rohan has already taken effect and is spreading rapidly through Rohan's body.

"No, Wilkes, you'll kill her!" Hope cries, lunging to her feet. I notice she sways, and I run to her side, catching her arm before she topples over onto Grace. She leans heavily upon me and once again I wonder what Wilkes did to her while I was gone.

"That's a risk I'm just going to have to take," Wilkes sighs, inspecting his nails.

"She just needs some time to recover!" Hope pleads with him desperately.

"Oh, she will have plenty of time, her own personal healer and the very best books and magical healing instruments and equipment at hand. My master will take very good care of her…" he laughs, baring his teeth in that horrible grin that makes me squirm.

"Take me!" Hope begs, her eyes glued to Grace. "Take me instead!"

"And what would be the use of that? Isn't Grace the one with knowledge of the weapon?" he grins as Hope stands there, caught between a rock and a hard place. Either way Grace is going to die one way or another, whether it be here on the grass by the Quidditch pitch or later at the hands of Wilkes' furious master.

"Wilkes, wait!" Hope cries, once more as she wracks her brain. "Gracie might not even make it through the night, let alone the next few days," her voice catches on these words, and I feel my own knees threaten to buckle at the weight of the truth behind these words. "If you just give me some time, I can make it easier for you to get to the memories of the weapon and you'll be able to find it before she dies and the last key to its location goes with her."

Wilkes pauses studying her. He already knows that she lied to save Gracie once. What's to stop her from doing it again?

"I scattered the memories everywhere Wilkes," Hope continues, seeing that she has his attention. "Grace has some of them, I swear. Remember when they tried to blast through my memories… They didn't find anything, did they? Because I had it too carefully protected in the form of more than one person," Hope says, as a hint of pride seeps into her voice for an instant before it's once again replaced with the desperation of a mother desperately trying to bargain for her daughter's life. "But now – now that I've regained most of my memory I think that I can find all the pieces and restore the full memory, but just give me time to do it or you'll find Grace's memory just as empty as my own. But without Grace's piece…"

"Fine," Wilkes says finally, interrupting her before she can continue. "You have twenty four hours to piece together this memory. If you fail though Hope, I'll make sure that Gracie, the filthy mudblood whore," he leers at me, "And the mudblood loving healer all die, and then you Hope will lead us to the weapon and watch as we destroy every last member of the Moon lineage."

Hope goes ghostly white.

"Oh, and if I hear that Dumbledore or the Aurors or anyone else even catches a whiff of this, I'll start the killing spree, beginning with this one," he says, reaching for me but I evade him.

"_EXPELLIARMUS_!" I cry. Instead of Wilkes' wand though, I get Rohan's from his numb unmoving fingers as well as another one I recognize as Grace's and what must be Hope's from Wilkes' pocket.

"INCA-"

"_PROTEGO_!" I throw up a shield, and desperately toss Hope all three of the wands. She catches two of them and aims them both at Wilkes. Now that Wilkes is distracted, I work on Rohan, removing the numbing charm with only a little bit of difficulty.

"Thanks, Lily," he thanks me gratefully as he flexes his fingers and tries to get feeling back into his other limbs by rubbing them.

"No, thank you!" I blurt out, as guilt suddenly overcomes me. I just dragged him into a death trap and he's thanking me. "Rohan, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you the whole story-"

"It's alright flower," Rohan whispers, pulling me toward him so that he can kiss my cheek quickly and tenderly. "It's not your fault."

But Hope was much more weaker than either of us anticipated. Wilkes knocks her down easily and sends a slashing curse that forces us to move apart and duck down. I find Rohan's wand suddenly at my foot and I kick it toward him as I cast another shield over Grace.

"We have to get her back to the castle," I whisper to him urgently, as I deflect another curse from Wilkes.

Rohan's lips tighten and he shakes his head, casting a blinding shield that sends Wilkes stumbling backwards, even if it is only temporary.

"She'll never survive, Lily," he breaks it to me, quietly.

"But you just said-"

"The _Adflictacius_ curse bonds the spellcaster to the victim, with a flick of his wand Wilkes can sever that tie and kill Grace instantly, no matter where she is or who she's protected by," he adds, giving me a meaningful glance. "Until I can figure out how to break the bond Grace has to stay with Wilkes or she'll die."

"Then I'll stay with her," I pledge, knowing that Grace would do the same for me in a heartbeat. "You go-"

"No! You have to get back to the castle," he says to me, turning those sad, gentle dark eyes upon me once more. "Get yourself out, Lily. You can't do anything for Grace."

"No," I refuse, shaking my head stubbornly, though I know he's right. "Grace's my best friend and you're – you're - _PROTEGO_!" I thrust my wand into the air, reinforcing the shield. The shield glitters so brightly that it stings my eyes, causing them to tear once again.

"I'll take care of her," he promises me, as he summons the portkey that Wilkes had dropped.

"Rohan," I protest weakly, but I know I won't stop him. He's the only one that can save Grace, and though I hate to admit it, I know that that Grace's life matters a hell of a lot more to me than the fact that I unthinkingly dragged him into this mess. Even now, in all his bravery, brilliance, and unfailing kindness, I don't love him enough to fight for him to the death like I would for Grace or…James. And I never will.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, pouring every last ounce of my strength into that shield. And I am. Rohan's wonderful and that just makes it all the more puzzling for me to accept why I just can't love him in the way he wants me to. But it's too late to apologize now.

Rohan climbs over Grace, making lightning quick adjustments to Grace's stretcher, double checking to make sure her sleeping form will survive the trip. My shield holds out just long enough for him to finish and then it falters, giving Wilkes the opening he was waiting for.

"I love you, Lily," he mouths to me and then before I can even react; Rohan, Wilkes, and Grace disappear in the blink of an eye.

"**You have twenty four hours**."

The words linger behind like smoke, echoing and resounding in my ears, long after the invisible charmed walls of the confinement box dissolves, leaving me alone with an injured Hope and the realization that I would probably never see Rohan Corner or my best friend alive again.

"They're gone," Hope whispers, staring at the spot where Grace was only moments before as if in a trance. "Gracie's gone."

My head reels with the impact of those two words, spinning like a merry go round. I miss the arrival of Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey. I ignore their sharp questions. I tune out Sirius's anxious inquiries after Gracie. It's only when someone grabs my arm and shakes me so hard that I swear I hear my bones rattling, that I find myself, sitting on the grass and blinking in the sunlight. The sunlight suddenly goes out, as James Potter crouches down in front of, laying his warm hands on my shoulders.

"Answer me, Lily!"

"James," I whisper.

"Lily, I could – I could kill you right now! You were standing there with Rohan, and then the next second you were gone. You just vanished! Lily – I thought -" James voice cracks and he bends forward, his whole body trembling as he lowers his head. I raise mine and lean my forehead against his. We stay like that for a moment, hardly daring to move any closer. But we can never stay apart for very long. I surrender myself, raising my arms and looping them around his neck. James slowly moves his hands from my shoulders to encircle my waist, hugging me back. It feels so much better to be back in his arms, though I can't block out everything.

"Rohan. Grace. They've got Gracie, James, and she's – she's-" I can't bring myself to finish that sentence, but James understands. He always does.

"I know, Lily," James whispers, pressing his lips to my temple, the same place where minutes ago Wilkes had pointed his wand, preparing to kill me. My fingers clench around fistfuls of his shirt and I shudder. But there's no more tears left to be cried.

"We'll get them back," he vows, stroking my hair.

I nod, swallowing hard.

"Ms. Evans, take your time, but when you're ready I'd like you to tell me what happened."

I reluctantly let go of James and look up to face the Headmaster. The light has gone out in his blue eyes and he looks years older. Behind him I can see Hope, resisting Madam Pomfrey's attempt to heal the burn on her face. She no longer resembles the crazy sixteen year old that James and I found in the kitchen. Her dark eyes blaze with a dangerous vengeful fire, there's wrinkles in her face that weren't there before, and the sunlight catches on a streak of grey in her mane of raven hair. A very pale and frighteningly solemn Sirius offers his hand and helps James and I to our feet.

James's arm lingers around my shoulders, comfortingly, and Sirius stays by my side. I look from one to the other, marveling at how much they'd changed, at how much they'd grown over the short span of a few months. Especially James.

"Ms. Evans? Would you like to go to the infirmary first, or perhaps go back to your dormitory to take a rest…?" Dumbledore offers me kindly.

Hope meets my eyes and I step out of the shadow of Sirius and James, joining her. I mutely shake my head, silently agreeing to talk to Dumbledore now rather than later. Dumbledore briskly leads the way back to his office with Professor McGonagall at his side. Reaching over, I take Hope's hand.

"There's still time," I remind her.

"Twenty four hours," Hope echoes.

It's not encouraging, but it's not completely hopeless either. Glancing at each other, Hope and I run to catch up with them. We can't afford to waste anymore time. Inside our minds an imaginary clock has begun to tick as each precious minute is lost.

The final count down has begun.

* * *

**A/N: Yea, I know I promised more Lily and James action, didn't I? But hey at least Lily's finally sort of made up her mind about Rohan (even if that scene between them was nauseating for most of you, at least something came out of it). Sorry, I know the action was kind of overkill too but this story sort of just writes itself, you know? And you're probably all like where did James go? I SWEAR he's in the next chapter. And if he's not then you have permission to murder me. Sorry this was so short. Be thankful it wasn't any shorter, because I almost didn't add the ending in with James until the next chapter. Anyway you know what they say about short chapters! There's a shorter amount of time between updates so hopefully, keep your fingers cross I can get the next chapter up soon. I'm very excited to be finally entering into this part of the story and hopefully it will move faster. **


	36. Breaking the Rules

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I can't even afford to buy myself notebooks and have to resort to writing my stories on paper plates and paper bags. So don't sue me because everything (with the exception of the insane plot and some of the weird characters or crazier characteristics of the known characters) belong to J.K Rowling. **

**Summary**_:_ **Grace is alive but barely, suffering from the effects of a curse that causes pain and raises the body temperature to impossible heights as organs boil. Wilkes wants the location of the weapon. Hope tells Wilkes that Grace has it and the curse's worse effects are reversed but she needs a healer to stay alive and Lily is sent in search of one. She runs into the unconscious dog that started it all, and it transforms into Sirius, revealing that he is an animigus. With Sirius's help Lily tracks down James and Rohan (who is practically a healer) and Lily takes Rohan to see Wilkes and Grace. Once Grace is stabilized Wilkes attempts to kidnap Grace and Rohan but Hope bargains for twenty four hours to track down the rest of the memories to find the weapon for him. Lily tries to help Rohan and Grace escape, but her efforts are fruitless for Rohan reveals that Wilkes will kill Grace unless they go with him. They vanish and James arrives to comfort Lily. Hope and Lily go to talk to Professor Dumbledore at the conclusion of the chapter. **

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 31: Stupid Cupid**_**.**

**A/N: Sorry this is late, my laptop got destroyed by a virus. **

**Chapter 35: Breaking the Rules**

As soon as Hope and I step into Professor Dumbledore's sunlit office, and sit down amongst the whirring, glaringly bright silver instruments around the room, I'm struck by an overflow of memories from my previous visits to this particular room. In December, I had been summoned here after Grace broke McLaggen's nose and we launched an attack on the banshee in response to a nasty comment she had made about Grace's parents. I wasn't punished for the "accident". Instead Dumbledore had informed me that I wouldn't be going home to see my parents for Christmas or perhaps ever. Grace of course had refused to let me spend Christmas alone at Hogwarts and had immediately offered to take me home with her. Then in September, I had come here with Grace, Sirius, James, and "Angel" to meet with James's parents. I remembered how Grace had stubbornly refused to let go of the child – even then she had felt a powerful connection to her mother though she hadn't quite understood it at the time. But the memory that stands out in my mind isn't from either of these visits but from my very first trip to the Headmaster's office as a terrified Third Year.

Most of it is a blur. The Marauders had found it hilarious to frame Grace and I for one of their biggest pranks. Surprisingly Filch didn't have the same sense of humor, because he marched us up to Dumbledore's office promising us that we'd be expelled and Grace and I had readily believed him. Just before we spoke with Dumbledore, Filch left us outside for a moment.

I vividly recall turning to the tall raven haired girl beside me (that had yet to shed a single tear) and realized for the first time what the word "best friend" actually meant. Impulsively I hugged her, whimpering something about how if we were expelled I would never see her again. Grace's careful mask had finally slipped and her eyes became suspiciously watery. But she pulled back from me and fiercely promised, "_I won't let it happen_."

Years ago I had thought that she was talking about us getting expelled, but now, three years after the incident and faced with the frightening concept that my best friend might be dead in less than twenty four hours, I wonder if perhaps she was addressing my second fear: the fact that we might never see each other again.

"Ms. Evans?"

Looking up, I pull myself back to the present where I'm sitting across the sparkling desk from Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, with not my thirteen year old best friend, but her distraught mother who's slumped down in the chair beside me.

"Ms. Evans, do you have anything you'd like to tell us?" Professor Dumbledore asks me, for what I now realize is probably the second or third time.

Not really. Right now all I want to do is crawl back into my bed and pray for this whole thing to be one big fat nightmare that I'll wake up from after a good nights sleep. But I'm beginning to realize that reality is a hell of a lot worse than any of the nightmares I've ever had.

"Grace saw me," Hope says suddenly, staring off into space. "She knew who I was," she continues softly. "And Wilkes and…"

"Yes, I'm afraid your disguise is gone Hope, there's no use lamenting it now. What's done is done. You'll have to leave us I'm afraid," Professor Dumbledore sighs, suddenly looking weary. A pained look comes over Hope's face and she sorrowfully bends her head.

"I don't understand how it happened," I whisper, finding my voice again.

Professor Dumbledore glances at Hope, who refuses to lift her head and then turns back to me.

"Hope thinks that during the confusion and chaos of the duel someone might have inadvertently canceled out and reversed the effects of the spells and charms holding her disguise in place…"

"But – but you'd have to remove each one individually!" I say, shaking my head at the seemingly impossibility of someone doing this. "There's a slim chance that with a particularly powerful _Finite_ countercharm could have-" I stop abruptly, as Hope's hand crushes mine and her nails dig into my skin.

Only one person had cast a _Finite_ countercharm on Hope.

Me.

Not only was the start of the fight my fault (because I'm sure Sirius even in his animigus form was more than capable of taking care of himself), but the revelation of Hope's identity was also due to my actions. Grace and Rohan were gone because of me.

The conclusion sickens me. I gasp, doubling over in the chair. I wrap my arms around my middle and try very hard not to throw up all over Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore rise from their chairs, alarmed and worried. Hope gently encircles me with her arms and I half heartedly try to push her away.

"Minerva, bring back Poppy," Dumbledore says to Professor McGonagall.

"No!" I cry. "I don't want to go to the infirmary," I protest feebly, shivering.

"I think perhaps, Lily should lie down," Hope suggests, automatically switching into maternal mode. She gently smoothes the hair back from my forehead as my mother had done on many occasions, and rubs my back comfortingly. "She's been through a lot today," she reminds them quietly.

"Of course," Professor McGonagall agrees immediately sympathizing. She starts to move toward me as if she's going to escort me herself, but suddenly green flames erupt from the fireplace to the left of Professor Dumbledore's desk. The disembodied head of a vaguely familiar attractive man with cat like eyes appears in the flames, demanding the attention of both professors.

"Minister McLaggen," Professor McGonagall says in surprise, but the face gives her a cold glance and then turns on Professor Dumbledore.

"Albus, what on earth is the meaning of this?! I demand to know what's going on!"

I don't stick around to hear what this stranger - who I have a sneaking suspicion just might be the Minister of Magic, Debbie's father – has to say and neither does Hope. With a distracted nod of permission from McGonagall we exit the room and bolt down the stairs.

Once we're out in the hallway I feel only marginally better than I did when I was sitting across the desk from the Headmaster. But at least now I can breathe.

"I'm sorry," I blurt out.

"Me too," Hope says, nodding solemnly. "But like Dumbledore said 'what's done is done'. The only thing that can be done now is to bring Grace and Rohan back."

"We can start by fixing your appearance," I decide, after a pair of girls pass us and give Hope a peculiar searching look. She looks like she's just come back from the dead and literally and figuratively she has. Grabbing her arm, I yank her into the empty bathroom and lock the door behind us.

"I highly doubt Wilkes is going to care what I look like," Hope retorts bitterly when I drag her over to a mirror, "And if you're worried about Hannah Smith, she just got herself an expulsion and a premature death. You can tell everyone that she really was a Death Eater, and she did kill Professor Binns because she didn't like the way he snored at her, and she also killed her daught-"

"Hold still!" I interrupt her, aiming my wand at her eyes. "Or I'll put a binding charm on you and force you to be still."

"You're aiming a wand at my eyes and you expect me to be _still_!" Hope grumbles, as her hand automatically goes to the pocket that holds her wand.

"Don't you trust me?" I ask her, sweetly.

"Not really," Hope snorts, "You cut my hair the _muggle_ way and it was uneven – OW!"

The spell gets her right in the eye and she winces. I brace myself but Hope doesn't light me on fire or attempt to kill me, like I had imagined she reflexively would have done. She blinks and tries to clear her now bright blue eyes as I seize a lock of her hair and curl it around the tip of my wand. The curls in her raven locks unravel as her hair becomes as straight as her daughter's. Madam Pomfrey's healing charms had failed to heal the bruises and cuts on Hope's face so I use the makeup coverup charm that I'd recently mastered. After six years I had finally put some of Tiffany Crowley's hair and makeup tips to good use.

"Now look," I tell her, turning her face toward the mirror. "You don't look like you belong in a tomb or a mental institution, and hopefully everyone will think that you're Grace, and stop freaking out every time they see you. We might even be able to keep the whole thing quiet like Wilkes wanted to so that no one knows Grace is missing."

"Clever, but what about your other friend." Hope touches her cheek and suddenly freezes. But she's not looking at her reflection or mine…

"JAMES POTTER!" I let out a startled scream and whirl around so fast that I hit my elbow on the faucet. "What do you think you're doing in here?" I demand, gingerly rubbing the injured arm and frowning at the handsome Marauder that just opened the stall door behind me.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he replies, raising his eyebrows. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you here, I'm just surprised…"

"But you - you shouldn't be in here!" I stammer, trying not to lose my train of thought. James has an infuriating habit of making me forget everything except him. "This is the-"

"Men's room?" James interrupts me, smirking slightly as he steps toward me. "Unless I've had a sex change that I'm not aware of I'm fairly certain that I am in the right place and that you are not. But perhaps there's something you wish to tell me, it might explain why you've found it necessary to turn me down so many times?"

I gape at him, readying a comeback. He smugly brushes past me and accidentally pushes me into another sink. Or at least I thought it was a sink. To my horror I realize that it's a urinal and James is in fact right, again. Hope makes a sound in the back of her throat that sounds suspiciously like a laugh, and I realize that in my haste to disguise her I hadn't been too choosy about which bathroom I entered. I blush hard, glancing around worriedly.

"Don't worry Lily, there's no one else here," James reassures me, turning off the tap and drying his hands. "We're completely alone," he whispers, dropping the towel and moving his hands to my shoulders.

"I locked the door," I tell him without thinking.

"Good idea, we wouldn't want anyone to interrupt us," James says, moving his hands down my arms and then back up to my shoulders. I shut my eyes and savor the pleasant tingling sensation that I feel at his touch. It's always different when Rohan touches me. It's like I'm missing that spark, a spark that ignites only when James touches me.

Hope clears her throat and my eyes snap open to find her leveling us with a reprimanding glare that makes me blush.

"Are you alright Lily?" she asks me.

"Perfectly," I say in a voice that sounds suspiciously high as I step back from James.

"Good, then let's get back to the part where we try to save my daughter and your boyfriend."

"Right," I agree nodding and sobering instantly. "We need to go after them, time is running out we probably only have twenty three hours left."

"Twenty three hours?" James explodes, his hazel eyes widening behind the framed lenses. "What are we waiting for then?"

"My memories," Hope sighs, furiously rubbing her forehead and pacing restlessly in front of the mirrors.

"But I thought you said you knew where they were!"

"I know what I said, Lily," Hope snaps back at me, "And it wasn't a complete lie. I do remember some stuff. I did scatter the memories that I'm sure of. It's the only logical explanation as to why they left me alive. Wilkes's master, Lord Voldemort is a skilled Legilimens-"

"He can read minds?" James interrupts her, with a kind of frightened awe.

"Dumbledore thinks so and so did my brother, which is why Harry gave them to me years ago, and I chose to scatter mine when I found out he was after me…" Hope explains, her brow creasing. "But unfortunately I don't know who I gave them to."

"You gave them to Grace," I remind her, recalling her earlier words to Wilkes. But then I catch sight of her face as she pauses in front of the mirror and my heart stills.

"You lied to Wilkes, didn't you?" I realize, gaping at her. If Hope lied to Wilkes and Wilkes has a master that can read minds… Oh, crap. I feel what little hope I had in me start to shrivel up and die.

"Not really," Hope says, shying away from my gaze. "There's a good possibility, I'm just not sure…" she trails off, frustration deepening every slight wrinkle on her weary face.

"Hope, do you remember anything?" James softly asks, gently turning her toward him so that she's forced to look into his eyes. "Anything at all about the location of the unnamable weapon?" Hope bites down on her lip, desperately racking her brain. At the same time I start racking my own brain because something is teasing at the back of my mind, something that I had filed away months ago…

"No," Hope shakes her head miserably. "I – I can't think! I just want Gracie back!" she wails, sitting down on the tiles and covering her face with her hands. James sits down on the floor beside her and hesitantly moves closer to comfort her. And that's when it hits me.

"Heather!" I exclaim, earning two confused glances from the said woman's son and sister. "Hope! You passed the secret on to Heather Potter!"

"My sister knows?" Hope queries, frowning. Then she shakes her head at me and James, resolutely denying my conclusions. "No, there's no way."

"Why not?" I ask, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.

"It's too obvious!" Hope says immediately. "And that would put my family into danger when the goal is to prevent that from happening. It just seems too risky and frankly, it's a really dumb idea."

I exchange a glance with James, resisting the urge to point out that we're already in enough danger as it is, and then with a sigh I turn to Hope.

"Hope, it may be stupid, but I think that's exactly what you did."

"How do _you_ know?" Hope demands, standing so that she can meet me head on.

"Grace told me," I answer her. Immediately her gaze softens and the fight goes out of her. "She got locked in the kitchen closet and was there the day that you passed the information on to your sister," I explain to her, my eyes flicking to James, as I recall everything Grace told me the day I escaped from the infirmary and Grace found me spying on her in the alcove.

"Then Grace must know…" Hope looks up at me with what might have been a flicker of hope.

I hesitate but reluctantly shake my head.

"I'm sorry Hope, Grace said it was passed on non-verbally and she didn't catch any of it," I remember sadly.

Hope's shoulders slump.

"At least we have a starting point," I say struggling to remain optimistic and desperately trying to avoid the thought that at any moment my best friend and Rohan might be murdered.

"Possibly," Hope says, resuming her pacing, "But chances are Heather only knows one piece of a giant puzzle."

"Well, we could at least talk to my mother and find out what she knows," James suggests, causing Hope to pause and look up at him in surprise. "She might know something about the location of the rest of the memories or perhaps even the weapon itself."

"Alright," Hope agrees slowly though she still looks doubtful and unconvinced. "Since we haven't got any other options, I guess that it couldn't hurt to try," she decides finally, standing up straighter and suddenly taking control.

"Here's what we're going to do. We're going to go down to the staff room and make a floocall to Heather-"

"The staff room? Is that even allowed?" I wonder, suddenly having a bad feeling about this idea.

"Nope. Which is exactly why we have to get in there," James says, rubbing his hands together and almost grinning as I imagine he always does at the exciting prospect of breaking and entering. He is a Marauder after all.

"It's the only place where fireplace visits aren't monitored or blocked," Hope explains to me. "So, while I'm in there speaking with Heather we'll need a diversion to distract the professors."

"Or an invisibility cloak?" James suggests. "And a certain Marauder's map perhaps?" He pulls a folded up piece of parchment from his pocket, one that I instantly recognize as the same map that James shared with me when we pranked Zabini in the Slytherin dormitories.

"You're always prepared to make mischief and wreak havoc, aren't you?" I ask, unable to stop a small smile at the thought of the reassuring predictability of the Marauders even in dark times such as these.

"Someone has to be!" James defends himself, puffing out his chest as if he's taken on the role of some kind of superhero and he's going to save/wreck the world one prank at a time. I snort and roll my eyes. Typical.

"You're laughing at me, Lily, but I don't think you understand that being a Marauder is a fulltime job. In addition to the map, the cloak, and the two-way mirror, I carry around two dungbombs at all times just in case of an emergency prank," James explains, taking this entirely too seriously.

"Good, we're going to need them," Hope cuts in grabbing the invisibility cloak and slipping it on before James can launch into what I'm sure would have been a lecture on why one must be always prepared to stage a prank at any moment. It sounds so silly and contradictory, but now that I'm in a situation where pulling off a prank could be a matter of life and death, I find myself thanking Merlin that we ran into James Potter and not someone like my fellow rule abiding prefect Rohan Corner. At the guilty thought of Rohan I flinch.

"What's the matter, Perfect Prefect Evans? Are you afraid to break the rules?" James teases me as I crack open the bathroom door again to make sure no one's coming.

"Of course not!" I hiss back at him, holding the door open for the invisible cloaked Hope. Just as I'm about to follow, Remus Lupin and Tiffany Crowley come around the corner. I pull the door shut so fast that James narrowly misses getting his hand stuck.

"Are you trying to cut my fingers off?" he whispers.

"That would actually make a really good diversion…" I muse, pretending to seriously consider the idea.

"Perhaps," James says shrugging and running his fingers down my arm in a suggestive manner as he proves a point of his own. "But I happen to like my fingers." I shiver in response to his electrifying touch, agreeing with him though I'll never admit it. James grins and leans dangerously close. "And besides I think I have a better idea."

Before I can ask what makes him think his idea is so much better than mine, James has opened the door and shoved me out into the hallway right in the middle of a group of students.

I stumble but I could have caught myself and easily escaped potential humiliation at the hands of my peers. Unfortunately, my robe gets caught as the heavy door swings shut behind me and I tumble forward, falling face first onto the stone floor of the hall in front of all those faces. Surprise turns to amusement, and the hall fills with titters and barely muffled giggles.

"Lily, are you alright?" Tiffany Crowley asks, coming forward with Remus Lupin to help me up.

"Fine," I grumble, blushing in embarrassment as my robe tears in the back when I get to my feet. Or I will be fine, as soon as I get a hold of James Potter so that I can murder him.

"Did you just trip?" Remus asks me, as Tiffany discreetly tries to fix the damage done to my robe like any good friend would do.

"Yea," I answer then I remember that I'm supposed to be creating a diversion. I probably should've faked a horrible injury or something. "I mean – no – I was-"

"Snogging James Potter in the men's room?"

I whip around just in time to find James Potter coming out of the loo behind me, and my despicable room mate Debbie McLaggen looking between the two of us with a sly grin. Still furious, I make a sudden move toward James, intending to make it clear through physical violence that we stick with _my _ideas from now on. But alas, Tiffany being the good friend that she is has her foot on my robe as she quickly tries to sew up the rip in the back with some subtle domestic magic. And so I repeat the process, only this time James catches me before I hit the ground.

"Thanks," I mutter sarcastically when I end up with my face squished comfortably against his firm chest.

"Just being a gentleman," James chuckles in my ear, as I press closer to him and use his body as a temporary support in order to regain my footing.

"SEE!" A shrill voice causes me and James to turn around. "_See_! I was right Kissy!" McLaggen continues to enthusiastically gloat to one of her devoted minions, looking at me and James. I'm temporarily distracted by the fact that she has a friend named Kissy. I can only imagine how she might have gotten that nickname.

"I knew they were secretly snogging! I knew it!" she exclaims, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Who?" I ask stupidly. But to my surprise James turns an alarming shade of red and glares at the banshee.

"Lily and James were snogging in the loo! _Snogging_ in the loo! SNOGGING IN THE LOO!" she sings, making a kind of childish rhyme out of this latest piece of juicy gossip so that no one will ever forget it. "Look!" she squeals loudly, pointing at us. "They're going to snog now!"

I look at James and realize how awkwardly close we still are, though I regained my footing ages ago. We separate from each other as we've just been burned and as if we really had been just caught snogging in the loo.

"Lily and James caught snogging in the loo!" McLaggen says in a singsong voice, and then to my horror her four minions take it up as well, amplifying it so that the entire castle can probably hear their miserably off key chanting. My face burns so hot that I lose all feeling in it and I don't think I'll ever be able to be seen within two feet of James Potter without hearing, "Snogging in the loo! _Snogging_ in the l -"

"SHUT UP!" someone roars. But it's not James, or me, but a furious Tiffany Crowley that barrels past us and runs right up to McLaggen.

"James and Lily were NOT snogging in the loo! Or anywhere else for that matter!" she shouts loud enough for anyone in the castle to hear.

"You don't know that!" McLaggen pouts.

"Neither do you!" Tiffany points out. "But what I do know is that Lily has a boyfriend that she would never cheat on! And I think I would know if MY boyfriend were snogging my _friend_ in the loo!" Tiffany looks back at us fiercely, with a glance so full of trust and loyalty that my eyes sting and I'm forced to look away.

"But Tiffany you didn't know that when Dante Zabini was your boyfriend he was shagging me!" the banshee reminds her, tossing her beautiful hair over her shoulder, giving us a better view of the ample bossom that has turned many a male head.

"Zabini's a slimeball! James isn't anything like that!" Tiffany defends her boyfriend who carefully avoids her gaze. I swallow a lump in my throat wondering if today will be the day that I lose two of my closest friends.

"Oh, really? Have you seen the way he looks at Evans? Have you heard how he still hits on Evans all the time?" One of McLaggen's cronies – Kissy - pipes up smirking at us. I turn an even deeper shade of red because I know that there's truth in this statement, and so does everyone else standing around, even Tiffany. Though she never took it seriously, until now.

"Poor Tiffany, can't stop her men from straying," McLaggen giggles, with a pitying shake of her head at little Tiffany who still seems shell shocked by Kissy's statement of truth. "Poor girl's going to end up exactly like her abandoned father or perhaps her mother and her ex-husbands-"

"I AM NOTHING LIKE MY MOTHER YOU – YOU – YOU WHORE!" Tiffany screams, pulling out her wand.

"MS. CROWLEY!" Professor Sprout, the new and inexperienced Herbology Professor appears. "LANGUAGE!"

Tiffany ignores the professor and aims a hex at McLaggen. The banshee shrieks as her precious locks get covered in some kind of green slime. Then to my utter shock and disbelief, instead of whimpering and hopping about as she normally would, McLaggen shakes out her slimy locks and pulls herself up to her full height.

"No one ruins MY hair and gets away with it!" she says, launching herself at Tiffany with hands outstretched like claws, and judging by the length of her florescent pink fingernails, they pretty much are claws. Tiffany drops her wand and meets her head on. She jumps onto McLaggen and starts pulling her hair, and slapping her. McLaggen screams shrilly and scratches at her with her razor sharp long finger nails, but despite these lethal weapons, Tiffany is clearly winning. None of us help her because we're in a complete state of shock. It's so unexpected out of both of them to react in this manner, and in all my years in Hogwarts I don't think I ever saw a cat fight quite like this one.

"GIRLS! STOP! MS. MCLAGGEN! MS. CROWLEY! STOP!" Professor Sprout screams foolishly trying to physically tear them apart, only to get kicked in the face by McLaggen. "AH!"

"HELP!" James cries out suddenly. "Help! Professor Sprout is hurt! HELP!"

Professor Sprout is fine, and the fight's basically over, but these apparently are the magic words. No less than five professors come racing around the corner, evidently coming from the staff room. So, it turns out that James and I did finally manage a diversion with a little bit of help from McLaggen and Tiffany. When James grabs my hand and pulls me away from the crowd, Tiffany is all scratched up and being awarded a month's worth of detention, but she's victoriously grinning at the whimpering McLaggen who will never bother her or perhaps any of us ever again. Remus is staring at Tiffany with a mixture of awe and profound admiration as if he's just met a goddess that he isn't quite sure whether to fear or revere. And when Tiffany catches sight of his gaze she blushes in a way that I'm sure James was never able to make her blush. It makes me wonder if maybe, just maybe James isn't the marauder that managed to capture her heart.

"My Aunt's probably going to need some more time so here," James says, thrusting something into my hand as soon as we round the corner and the sounds of the crowd have faded away. I yank my thoughts away from Tiffany and Remus and force myself back to the task at hand. Or rather the task that is physically in my hands.

I gasp, nearly dropping the object in my surprise.

"Hey! Careful with that! That's Zonko's newest product, they haven't even released it for testing yet!" James warns me, holding out his hand as if he thinks I might drop it again. I gingerly turn the brown package (that strongly resembles a muggle whoopee cushion) over in my hands knowing that if I drop it the hallway will instantly be filled with the overpowering stench of dung.

"What's the matter Evans, haven't you ever seen a dungbomb before?" James asks me, grinning.

"I happen to have four in my trunk," I inform him. After practically living with the Marauders for the past six years, me and my roommates started packing them in our trunks in case of emergency retaliation. Fortunately, the Marauders (after James fell in love with me and Grace nearly hexed Sirius's bits off) finally decided to leave us alone… most of the time (which is why I still have them).

"Wow Evans, I'm impressed," James says, whistling in admiration. "I didn't think you had it in you to bring a _forbidden_ object to school," he mocks me with a grin.

"Shut up," I growl back at him, "And show me how to use this thing because it looks nothing like any of the ones I have in my trunk," I grudgingly admit, searching and failing to find the trigger on it. As I turn it over it grows warmer in my hands and colorful enchanted drawings of flames start to dance across the surface.

"Well that's because it's Zonko's newest model," James repeats.

"Which means…?" I wait for him to finish, spinning it faster and faster between my hands, watching as the drawings grow brighter, and more vivid, and appear to glow like real flames that blur, and burn between my fingertips.

"Which means…" James tapers off, cocking his head as he watches the flaming dungbomb in my hands with interest. "I haven't the foggiest idea as to what it does."

"What?!" My eyes widen but the dungbomb keeps spinning, and spinning, and I realize now that I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to. It's too late. I've already accidentally activated it.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask, trying to hang on to the thing, even though it's spinning so fast now that it's threatening to take off.

"Er…"

"James!" I squeak, suddenly hearing the sounds of footsteps in the distance heading this way. We need to figure out how to stop it before they get anywhere near here! I have a very, very bad feeling about what's going to happen when this thing goes off. Not to mention what might happen if a professor catches me with it!

"I'm thinking," James assures me.

"Think faster!" I hiss.

"Okay!" James says, decidedly rubbing his hands together. "Lily, on the count of three you're going to let go of it."

"Let go!? Can't you-"

"One… two… Th"

I shriek as I feel an explosion of heat at my fingertips, and I throw the atomic dungbomb high into the air before James finishes. It arches above our heads, whirring faster, and faster until it suddenly bursts into flames. In a flash, James pushes me up against the wall, shielding me with his body. I cling to him, watching in awe as the flames disperse and a shower of ash rains down, covering the entire corridor.

"Are you alright?" James asks me, quietly as the soot rains down around us, almost like snow. Except… I reach out as if in a trance and brush some of ash from his soft inky hair, and it's then that the unbearable stench strikes me. The ash, it smells like dung. The entire corridor now reeks of it. And if we stick around we're going to be in deep shit. Literally.

James seems to reach the same conclusion as I do because he takes my hand and we start to run. I can hear the distant sound of alarmed voices and rapid footsteps, but James and I already halfway down the hall, leaving a trail of footprints in our wake. All they'd have to do is follow our tracks…

I cast a quick spell over my shoulder, and a giant burst of wind picks up the ashes, scattering them in all directions. I point my wand at my traitorous trainers, and James quickly scourgifies any of the remaining dung smelling ash from himself.

"I… think… I… know… why… it… hasn't… been… released… yet," I gasp between greedy, gulping breaths as James and I try to double back around to the staff room where we left Hope before someone manages to pick up the trail.

"Why's that?" James asks me, barely breaking a sweat as we whip around another corner. Merlin, why does he have to be so damn good at everything? Even now when we're running for our lives and my lungs are about ready to explode, James looks as if he's just shooting the breeze.

"It… needs… more… testing… LOTS… more… testing…"

"You think?" James quips, grinning as he gradually slackens our pace, giving me an opportunity to finally breathe.

"You… can… tell… Zonkos… that… I'll stick with… traditional… dungbombs… and that… you… want your… money back."

James laughs and pulls me toward him, casually slinging an arm around my shoulders.

"I'll let Zonkos know that you disapprove," he whispers, grinning. "But I think I underestimated you Evans."

"What do you mean?" I ask. Though I've already caught my breath, the close proximity of James Potter's dangerously handsome face nearly causes me to lose it once more. He wraps his other arm around my shoulder, turning me so that I'm fully facing him. I'm forced to look into his gorgeous laughing hazel eyes and try to remain calm and breathing at the same time. An impossible task.

"I was wrong," he continues, leaning closer to me and grinning.

"Wrong?" I whisper, as my heart skips a beat at his answering nod.

"You're astoundingly good at breaking the rules," he compliments me, scanning my face closely as if I really had taken him by surprise. Truth be told I think I was more shocked by my actions than he was. But I'm not going to lie. I had fun, a lot of fun. In fact I feel so liberated from that prank that I begin to wonder how it might feel to go a little bit further…

"You know," I whisper, pressing closer to him and running one of my hands slowly up his chest. "Sometimes I wish I could break _all_ the rules."

"What's stopping you?" James asks, his eyes darkening as my hand gently traces his jaw line. I lean toward him, overwhelmed by James and the reaction that only he can create within me. All those rules, all those reasons: reputations, trust, loyalty, friendships, suddenly everything that once seemed so important is millions of miles away and utterly meaningless. Because it's James, and it always has been.

"I'm not sure anymore," I admit so softly that I don't even know if James hears me.

"James! Lily!" the voice comes from a long way off and every ounce of my being is telling me to ignore it. But James releases me slowly, ever so slowly. He reaches up and gently takes my hand, taking it away from his face and lightly pressing his lips to it before letting it go. Now he's relinquishing his hold on my shoulders just as painstakingly sluggishly as he did with my hand, as if letting go is the very last thing he wants to do. But the outside world calls to us in the form of Hope.

"How'd you like our diversion?" I ask her, unable to keep a little bit of pride from creeping into my voice.

"Great, it was great I'm sure," Hope says distractedly.

"You didn't get caught, did you?" James queries, frowning.

"No, no, nothing like that, but James I went to see your mother," she tells us, pausing to take a breath.

"And?" James grabs her shoulder, compelling her to look up at him. It's then that we see the deep sadness, and the wild anxious fear traced all over her weary beaten face, and all at once I remember that this isn't some prank that Wilkes is playing with us but the lives of two innocent students, one of whom happens to be my best friend.

"You were right Lily, she had it," Hope confirms. I don't feel any relief though, because Hope looks worse off than when she went to see Heather.

"She _had_ it?" I echo quietly.

"Yes, she did, but I was too late," Hope whispers sadly, hopelessly pressing a hand to her forehead as James's face goes ghostly pale and all of the blood freezes over in my veins. "The Death Eaters… They got to her first."

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. To make a long story short my sister destroyed my laptop with a virus. I always laughed when people used this excuse but then it happened to me. It's finally fixed but I'm going to be very, very busy with school. I'm going to make every effort to finish this story though and since writing is my stress reliever hopefully you will see a post soon. But no guarantees! I may have some extra time on my hands this week so there's a possibility that I might be able to get one more out but no promises! Anyway what'd you think? I realize the Tiffany vs. McLaggen fight was already done, but I wanted Tiffany to get her chance to finally finish it, if you know what I mean. Hope you all liked the prank, I tried very hard to put some humor and James into this chapter because many complained that he was missing and that it was getting a little too sad. I realize that this also might sound a little like the scene in OotP but once I noticed it I tried to make it different. If you have questions just let me know! **


	37. Do You Remember?

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I can't even afford to buy myself notebooks and have to resort to writing my stories on paper plates and paper bags. So don't sue me because everything (with the exception of the insane plot and some of the weird characters or crazier characteristics of the known characters) belong to J.K Rowling. **

**COMPLETE SUMMARY: FEEL FREE TO SKIP OVER (ITS DIVIDED INTO PARTS 1-10, 10-20, 20-29 and 30-34 TO MAKE IT EASIER)**

**Summary of 1-10: Lily flashes back to the start of her sixth year. On September 1st, Lily's best friend Grace Adams and Grace's cousin James Potter show up at her house to unexpectedly take Lily back with them to Grace's house. Grace receives a letter informing her that her house was attacked and her family murdered. The Wizarding World goes into lockdown trapping Lily, James and Grace at her home. Then the floo opens back up but Lily is left behind and attacked by Death Eaters who come looking for presumably Gracie. James comes back to rescue her and takes her to his home. Lily and James encounter a mysterious child who turns out to be Gracie's mother who's body was never located and survived the attack but at the price of her memory and a curse that left her a child. They return to school and the child that Grace tries to smuggle in is left with James's parents, who realize it's Hope and try to help restore her memory and body. **

**Summary of 10-20: Lily is not allowed to return home for fear of endangering her family since her house was attacked. She goes to spend Christmas at the Potters house. The crazy Ravenclaw Ophelia reveals that she thinks Hope's coffin is empty (which it was) and that she is still alive (which she is). Grace believes her, and drags Lily, James, and Sirius into the family mausoleum to check and see if it's true. Lily finds a body in it but not Hope's. Lily and Sirius disturb the tomb with their presence and awaken a statue that tries to kill them and leaves them trapped until Hope, now in teenage form and still living at the Potter house with only half her memories, lets them out after receiving an owl from Tiffany who was contacted through Remus's mirror. They find out Remus is a werewolf. Death Eaters attack at the annual yule tide ball and kill Tiffany's father. Lily and James once again encounter Hope, this time as a teenager and one that reveals her true identity. The Potters realize Lily and James have stumbled upon their secret and decide to send Hope to Hogwarts where she will be safer and be more apt to retrieve the necessary memories, under the protection of Dumbledore and Lily and James. Lily and James share their first kiss under some mistletoe. James's mother discovers them in another interesting position and jumps to the conclusion that they are sleeping together. James doesn't argue with his mother and reveals to Lily that he and Grace had to tell her that she was promised to James in order to allow her to stay with them for the Holidays. Lily is furious and gets upset with Gracie when she finally corners her in a compartment. The compartment is attacked and Lily is nearly killed. **

**Summary of 20-29: Ophelia and her friend Rohan save Lily's life and she wakes up in the hospital wing nearly two weeks later with Hope watching over her under James's strict instructions. James and Lily have another encounter in which they snog but Lily refuses to go out with him for what seems like the last time. Lily sneaks out of the hospital wing and hears Alice trying to convince Grace to help her hook up Tiffany with James. Grace discovers Lily eavesdropping and explains everything to her, how the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in the world and how they targeted her parents because of their outspokenness and the fact that her mother was in possession of a deadly secret concerning the location of a powerful weapon the Death Eaters want, and that this secret was passed onto James's mother. Frank alerts them that the Minister of Magic is being chosen and Slytherins and Gryffindors alike watch as Tiffany's despicable mother announces that their hated room mate, Debbie McLaggen's father was chosen for Minister, a choice that the Slytherins are thrilled with. A fight ensues between Gryffindors and Slytherins when Tiffany attacks Debbie when Zambini dumps her for Debbie. Lily takes the injured Tiffany's wand but is disarmed in the attack by Rohan and Ophelia trying to break up the fight. She's stunned and loses consciousness. Lily wakes up in the hospital wing again and fights with James because she hears he comforted Tiffany and she's secretly jealous. Rohan and Ophelia visit and Hope is introduced as Hannah Smith. Professor Binns is found dead, and Hope thinks she murdered him because she gave him an overdose of her dreamless sleeping potion. James invites Lily to a broomcloset and Binn's ghost insists on teaching forever. Rumors spread. Rohan gets Lily and Hope released from the hospital wing and offers to tutor Lily. Grace hears rumor that Lily and Rohan are dating. Lily misunderstands and announces to the entire common room that she doesn't like James right after she figures out that she does in fact fancy him. James asks Tiffany out in front of Lily. Grace drags Lily to McLaggen's party in the Slytherin Common Room in an effort to get back at James. Sirius figures out who Hope is. Grace doesn't like "Hannah" at all. Lily nearly gets raped by Slytherins Wilkes and Mulciber. Zabini, who turns out to be James (with polyjuice), rescues her and reveals his real identity after she beats him up. Sirius and Grace join them and Lily helps them prank the Slytherins by making it look like Zabini, Wilkes, and ugly Slytherin girl Selwynn slept together. Grace confesses that she wants to shag Sirius when she's drunk. Tiffany and James are officially together. **

**Summary of 30-34: ****Grace is jealous of "Hannah's" closeness with Sirius. Tiffany confesses she needs James and fancies him a lot. Lily lies and says she doesn't. Lily meets Rohan and Ophelia in the library. Rohan gets bitten by Sirius's book and Ophelia explains that it's a defensive jinx to prevent people from opening it. Lily agrees to go to Hogsmeade with Rohan. Remus reveals that the book belongs to Zabini and that James and Sirius nicked it from the Slytherin dormitories thinking they could use it to cheat. Taking Ophelia's advice, Lily decides to keep the book.** **A jealous Grace continues to fight with her mother, almost discovering her true identity. Hope thinks Grace is Mark's daughter, but not her own, and remembers seeing Ophelia before. Lily freaks out on the ice, and reveals to James that she lied when she told him she didn't care for him. Sirius sleds into the couple and hits a tree. James retrieves the Cupid Cruiser and kidnaps Lily, taking her on a wild sleigh ride. Tiffany reminds Lily of the date she had with Rohan that she forgot about. James is jealous. Lily is very late but with Tiffany's help and advice she succeeds in winning Rohan over and having a good time. The Marauders start hassling her. Remus and Lily discuss James's feelings for her and Remus attempts to give love advice. Alice and Frank finally get together with a little push from Lily. Grace knocks over the banshee's dressing table and a spyglass disguised as a mirror is found among McLaggen's precious possessions. James and Lily try to make each other jealous with Tiffany and Rohan. James turns Rohan into a dragon. Lily agrees to be Rohan's girlfriend and then runs into James. James apologizes. Lily refuses to forgive him, but they snog. Lily leaves James, deciding that it's wrong and she can't hurt Rohan and Tiffany.** **Two months later Lily has a nightmare about the mausoleum and speaks to James for the first time. James confesses that the healer in charge of Hope's case was killed and they might know where she is. Rohan tells Lily he loves her, Lily tells Grace and Hope that she doesn't love him. Grace gets her sandwich stolen by a familiar mutt and gives chase. Lily and Hope find the dog surrounded by the Slytherin quidditch team and Lily frees the dog. Grace comes to her rescue, and a fight breaks out. Hope and Wilkes duel and Hope's disguise vanishes, revealing her true identity to everyone present. Wilkes casts a deadly curse on Grace. Grace is alive but barely, suffering from the effects of a curse that causes pain and raises the body temperature to impossible heights as organs boil. Wilkes wants the location of the weapon. Hope tells Wilkes that Grace has it and the curse's worse effects are reversed but she needs a healer to stay alive and Lily is sent in search of one. She runs across Sirius in dog form and realizes he's an animigus. They get James and Rohan (who is practically a healer) and Lily takes Rohan to see Wilkes and Grace. Once Grace is stabilized Wilkes attempts to kidnap Grace and Rohan but Hope bargains for twenty four hours to track down the rest of the memories to find the weapon for him. Lily tries to help them escape, but Rohan reveals that Wilkes will kill Grace unless they go with him. They vanish and James arrives to comfort Lily. Hope and Lily go to talk to Professor Dumbledore.**

**Summary of the last chapter**_:_ **Lily and Hope make a trip to Dumbledore's office and after Lily attempts to disguise Hope as Grace in order to keep the whole incident quiet until they can bring back Grace and Rohan. James startles them and Lily realizes that she's in the Mens Room. Hope reveals that she doesn't know where the weapon is or her memories, and Lily recalls that Grace saw Hope pass the information onto James's mother months ago. Hope decides to make a floocall to Heather and James and Lily must stage a diversion to vacate the staff room so that Hope can communicate with her by fireplace. James and Lily get caught coming out of the bathroom, McLaggen thinks they're snogging in the loo, Tiffany comes to their defense and beats the crap out of the banshee. Lily and James drop an atomic dungbomb in another hallway and James is impressed. Lily finds she enjoys breaking the rules. Hope arrives at the end only to spoil the moment and announce that she was too late and that the Death Eaters had already gotten to Heather. **

**A/N: Sorry guys I know it's been a long time. Almost a year! EEK! Between school and work and just real life in general this year was INSANELY BUSY. I can't tell you the amount of times that I tried to start this chapter and then guiltily returned to finish an essay that I was supposed to be writing instead. For those of you that read this story, thank you. I'm still in love with it and with all of you. Since it is summer and I'm still unsuccessfully job hunting I hope that I will be able to write more. Unfortunately this chapter is pretty short and contains a lot of flashbacks, but the next one will be better. **

* * *

**Chapter 36: Do You Remember? **

_"You know," I whisper, pressing closer to James and running one of my hands slowly up his chest. "Sometimes I wish I could break __all__ the rules."_

_"What's stopping you?" James asks, his eyes darkening as my hand gently traces his jaw line. I lean toward him, overwhelmed by James and the reaction that only he can create within me. All those rules, all those reasons: reputations, trust, loyalty, friendships, suddenly everything that once seemed so important is millions of miles away and utterly meaningless. Because it's James, and it always has been._

_"I'm not sure anymore," I admit so softly that I don't even know if James hears me._

_"James! Lily!" the voice comes from a long way off and every ounce of my being is telling me to ignore it. But the outside world calls to us in the form of Hope._

_"How'd you like our diversion?" _

_"Great, it was great I'm sure," Hope says distractedly._

_"You didn't get caught, did you?" _

_"No, no, nothing like that, but James I went to see your mother," she tells us, pausing to take a breath._

_"And?" James grabs her shoulder, compelling her to look up at him. It's then that we see the deep sadness, and the wild anxious fear traced all over her weary beaten face, and all at once I remember that this isn't some prank that Wilkes is playing with us but the lives of two innocent students, one of whom happens to be my best friend._

_"You were right Lily, she had it," Hope confirms. I don't feel any relief though, because Hope looks worse off than when she went to see Heather._

_"She __had__ it?" I echo quietly._

_"Yes, she did, but I was too late," Hope whispers sadly, hopelessly pressing a hand to her forehead as James's face goes ghostly pale and all of the blood freezes over in my veins. "The Death Eaters… They got to her first."_

* * *

Time seems to stand still for a moment and images of a beautiful dark haired woman with warm hazel eyes flashes through my mind. I see her racing down the steps to embrace James, worriedly fussing over Gracie, generously welcoming me into her home and family, gently healing the bruises on my throat, and finally grinning mischievously at James and I after she caught us together in a rather suggestive position.

I watch as shadows pass over James's face as he tries to process the devastating discovery Hope just made and I tentatively rest my hand on his shoulder. James in turn wraps his arm around my waist to steady himself.

"Is – Is she alive?" he asks desperately, gradually tightening his hold on me as his anxiety heightens. I move my hand from his shoulder, rubbing his back consolingly and focusing my entire attention on James so that I almost miss Hope's answer.

"Yes."

"Is she alright?" James queries anxiously.

"She will be," Hope reassures him, forcing a smile and wrapping a comforting arm around his other shoulder. "She's at St. Mungo's with your father right now, recovering."

"She's okay though, right?" he asks again.

"Danny's convinced that they'll allow her to go home in a few days."

James relaxes and sags against me, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I clutch him to me. It's bad enough that Grace and Rohan are in danger. I don't think James or I could have handled yet another loss.

"What happened?"

"Your father received an anonymous tip off right before the attack. He immediately went home to check on your mum and found three Death Eaters in the house. He caught them by surprise and they apparated out of there leaving your mother alive and only injured. Your dad got her to St. Mungos right away and I'm sure that in a few days she'll be back on her feet and on her way home," Hope explains forcing far too much enthusiasm for James's sake. I have a feeling that she's not exactly telling the whole story and may have softened the real horrors of it.

James apparently doesn't believe it either because after watching his Aunt closely for a moment, he demands,

"I want to see her."

"I don't think that would be a good idea…" Hope says gently, but there's an underlying firmness in her tone that warns him not to mess with her.

"I need to make sure she's alright." James shakes her off, pushing us both away from him.

"But James…"

"I have to go to St. Mungos," he cuts me off, brushing past me and heading back in the direction of the staff room and the location of the nearest floo fireplace that could transport him to St. Mungos and his mother.

"And you can do that right after we get Grace back."

James stops in his tracks at the sound of Grace's name. He hesitates, glancing back at his Aunt and then me. I can understand why James feels he needs to go to right this very instant but with less than twenty-two hours left on the clock Grace, Rohan and the lost memories need every precious second of our time. I turn my back on James, even though it pains me to do so, and join Hope.

"How are we going to do that?" James demands to know, still torn between going to see his mother and waiting around for Hope's memories that probably will never surface.

"I'll explain, but not here, James," Hope says, shaking her head and lowering her voice significantly. "Anyone could be listening."

James and I both realize that she's right. There's no doubt in my mind that Wilkes is a Deatheater and who knows how many other fledgling Deatheaters could be lurking in our midst. James takes one last look over his shoulder and then, sighing, he crosses the hall and beckons for us to follow. Wordlessly we retrace our steps, heading back to where James and I set off the dungbomb only fifteen minutes ago but what already seems like another lifetime. Instead of going down this particular hallway, which is probably swarming with professors seeking us, James redirects us down another corridor and another, until he abruptly stops beside a ruby red tapestry of that mythical beast known as a griffin that I had never taken the time to notice before now. James looks around and then sweeps it aside, ushering me and Hope inside of the archway that materializes at a touch of his hand. A secret passageway!

"This will take us directly back to the Gryffindor Tower," he whispers, letting the tapestry flap shut behind us, plunging us into darkness. He lights his wand, revealing the bottom of a stone spiral staircase that looks as if it's seen better days and explains why most students wouldn't opt to take this path even if they did know about it.

James senses my hesitation and seizes my hand, dragging me along behind him before I can protest.

"It's safe," he reassures us as we start climbing the wobbling stones that must have made a great staircase hundreds of years ago. "And the only other people that know about this passageway are Sirius, Remus and Peter."

He waits until we reach a landing of some sort, where the staircase seems to stop with one particularly large flat slab of stone before continuing to ascend in spiral formation once more, and then motions for us to sit. He lights one of the torches on the wall and then squats down on the landing, patting the seat beside him. There's just enough space for James and I to sit closely side by side. Hope opts to sit on the step below us, with her back against the wall so she can face us.

"We can talk here," he informs us and wasting no time at all, he immediately launches right back into the conversation that Hope had halted. "Our only hope was to find those missing memories. Lily told us that Grace saw you pass the memory onto my mother. You just confirmed it but the Death Eaters got to her before you could."

"Yes, they did. But they didn't have time to destroy her though or her memories because your father got there in time. Heather was able to give me what she had, but now we must deal with the fact that the Death Eaters have that information as well."

"So, you got it!" I exclaim as hope surges through me.

Hope nods but doesn't look very excited.

"All we have to do now is beat the Death Eaters to it, right?"

"It's a bit more difficult than that, I'm afraid," she sighs, running her hands through her hair. "Even if we did know the true location of the weapon."

"But I thought you just said that you got the memory from my mum," James reminds her.

"I did and it's not the right one."

"I don't understand." I frown.

"Of course you don't and hopefully the Death Eaters won't understand either. Like I said earlier, I knew that trusting someone in my immediate family with the memory, especially another Moon, would be far too dangerous and risky. In the case that they would come after me and find the memories missing, the first person they would look to next would be probably my sister Heather."

"But Gracie insists that she saw you pass your memory onto James's mum!" I recall, remembering vividly that day in the alcove when Gracie had shared with me everything she knew about her family's involvement with the hidden unnamable weapon that the Deatheaters were so intent on getting their hands on.

"And she did," Hope says, lowering her eyes to her hands and concentrating on them as if they have the answer to our tragic dilemma. Even in the flickering torchlight I can still see the one hand that's scarred that even Madam Pomfrey and the best healers at St. Mungos had never quite been able to heal.

"But I didn't give Heather the real location of the weapon. I gave her a false memory. She was only a decoy to temporarily throw the Deatheaters off the trail," Hope reveals.

James and I exchange a shocked look.

"But if you don't know where it is than how do you know it's not the real location?" I ask, puzzled.

"Wait." James leans forward to get a better look at her face. "Do _you_ remember where it is?"

A minute ticks by in silence, and then another as James and I wait in anticipation for Hope to say something or at least lift her head out of the shadows. And then finally, when I don't think that I can stand it any longer, her voice breaks the silence.

"No." Hope shakes her head, raising her eyes at last. Her confused gaze moves past him and then past me, moving upward and finally stopping on something just above our heads, and then suddenly the clouded expression clears, replaced with one of understanding.

"But I know who does," she whispers with a thin lipped smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes that are still fixated on something just behind and above us. "And she's right here."

I freeze and James goes rigid beside me. Now that I'm looking for it, I can sense it now. There's someone else among us. Someone who had silently tracked us through the corridors and waited until the three of us had disappeared behind the tapestry before quietly slipping in behind us and making her ascent. And now I could see it. The slight shadow just behind Hope at the curve of the stairs, that Hope must have noticed and been studying when she was intently concentrating on her hands.

"Why don't you show yourself?" Hope suggests, finally turning around to face the shadow.

I gasp aloud and James's jaw drops as my Ravenclaw friend, Ophelia Kenny Lovegood emerges from the darkness and steps into the circle of torchlight.

"What are you doing here?" I ask when I finally find my tongue again because Ophelia is the very last person that I would expect to find in this position. But we already know the answer to that question. Clearly she was trying to eavesdrop on our conversation, but the question was why?

"Where is he?" she asks, completely ignoring my question.

"Who?" James looks puzzled.

"Where is he?" she repeats, addressing me and only me for the second time with the slightest note of hysteria in her normally calming voice.

And that's when I get it. The only reason why she tracked us is because she's looking for _her _missing best friend, Rohan Corner. Ophelia had been studying with him in the library when James told him that I needed him. Obviously, he hadn't come back. No one but James, Sirius, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey knew what had happened between Wilkes, Grace, Hope, Rohan and I. Of course there were several members of the Slytherin quidditch team that probably knew that Grace had been hurt or possibly even killed and that "Hannah Smith" had undergone a very unusual change, maybe some of them had even noticed in all the chaos that it was Hope Adams rising from the dead. But if Gracie did die and if those Slytherins admitted to being there, they could be expelled and possibly even brought to the Ministry for trial. So our secret was safe… for now.

"Where's Rohan?" she demands to know, snapping me back to the present.

"I don't know," I answer honestly.

"Tell me where he is."

"I'm sorry Ophelia, but I really don't know," I apologize, wishing I could give her a better answer.

But Ophelia's anxiety for her friend is so carefully hidden behind the mask of serenity that she always wears that I don't recognize the warning signs until it's too late. She's a powerful and brilliant witch and when she doesn't have the time or patience to wait around for a better answer, she doesn't. With a flick of her wrist she's disarmed us and has all three of our wands in our hands before we can even think of reacting.

"You'll get them back as soon as I get the truth, because I know that all three of you are lying to me." She tucks them inside her Ravenclaw robe just beneath the prefect badge that she always wears upside down because she claims it's a symbol of good will, before rounding on James. "James, you were the last one to speak with Rohan. You took him out of the library because Lily wanted him for something and it was important. Where did you take him and what did you do to him? And don't lie to me. I know that you dropped that stack of books on his head earlier."

James's face flushes and he looks ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles and he really does look like he is for once.

"You can apologize to Rohan later, once you tell me where he is."

"We don't know," James echoes my earlier response.

"You're lying," Ophelia observes, and now I can see where she's channeling her anxiety. She already knows something's gone wrong and that something bad has happened to her best friend that's out of her control, but she's blindly taking it out on us. And if we're not careful…

"No, you don't understand-" James protests.

Ophelia raises her wand and points it at him, and in a flash I'm lunging forward, seizing her wrist in midair and sending the spell awry. A crater forms in the wall, where the spell finally hits.

"Stop!" I tell her.

And she does, now that she sees what she would've done had she hit her mark. Slowly she lowers her arm and I let go of her, knowing that it won't be necessary anymore. She has her emotions under control now. Or at least I think she does. It's so difficult to tell when it comes to crazy Ophelia.

She had no right to take away our wands like that and to try to hurt James, but she does have a right to the truth about the whereabouts of her best friend. I owe her that, especially since it is my fault she'll probably never see him again and I know what it's like, seeing as my best friend was taken as well.

So I take a deep breath and tell her everything that happened in the past few hours.

When I finish, Ophelia leans back against the wall in silence for a long moment, hiding behind that serene calm mask that she had perfected. It's impossible to read her. But I'm hoping that now that I've finally told her the truth and that we were basically telling the truth all along that she won't explode again.

"I'm so sorry Ophelia," I apologize again. She looks down at me with that same blank expression and the words pour out of me before I can stop them.

"It's my fault," I whisper. "Rohan never would have been involved if it hadn't been for me."

"Your fault?" Ophelia echoes.

"He loved me," I confess. "I was only thinking of how to save Gracie. I should have stopped him." But I know that even if I did it over, I wouldn't have stopped him. And Ophelia knows it too. She knows how much he loved me and she knew right from the start that I didn't love him, not in that way, and that I never would. But does she know that over the past two months Rohan had become someone that I did care for and one of my closest friends?

"You couldn't have stopped him, Lily," Ophelia contradicts me. "He may be a Ravenclaw but that doesn't mean he isn't brave. You're right, he probably wouldn't have been drawn in to the fray as quickly if he hadn't started dating you, but Rohan believes in saving lives and he hates the Deatheaters just as much as you do. He lost his grandfather to Deatheaters if you remember."

"Sure, he probably was quicker to jump into the fire because he loved you, but eventually we're all going to end up there. It's only a matter of time. At some point we're all going to be faced with that decision and forced to choose a side to fight for whether we like it or not. Rohan made his decision long before you entered the picture. You have to understand that Lily. It's not your fault…"

I breathe a sigh of relief, realizing that she does understand more than I ever expected and that she never blamed me for falling in love with James and not her best friend.

"It's not your fault," Ophelia repeats and then suddenly the serene mask crumbles as her eyes move to Hope. "It's mine."

James tenses beside me and I wonder if she's about to lose it again. Ophelia has slid down the wall into a sitting position on the step just below Hope. Her face is hidden in her hands, behind the curtain of her long blonde hair. Even in the shadows I can see that her shoulders are trembling and it seems that she's finally broken down into tears. It's a shocking sight for me. Ophelia's always been so calm and collected even in the worst crises, but I guess everyone has their breaking point and Ophelia had finally reached hers.

She lifts her head and I realize that she's not crying, she's laughing hysterically.

"It's mine! It's my fault!" she laughs wildly. She throws back her head and her crazed laughter echoes through the stone staircase, chilling me to the bone. Hope is still watching her with that same tight smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. When Ophelia meets her eyes again, there's irony and bitterness in both of their expressions as if they've just come to some unspoken realization. Ophelia's laughter quickly dies away and I see that her face glitters in the torchlight. She is crying and there's a silent apology in those tears.

"You have it," Hope says at last. It's not a question.

Ophelia smiles bitterly through her tears.

"No, way!" James is incredulous but I kick him, telling him to shut up.

The wheels in my head are churning as I glance between the two women sitting on the staircase below us. A whisper of a memory stirs in the back of my mind. Hadn't it been Ophelia who recognized that the coffin was empty and that Hope wasn't dead? Wasn't it Ophelia that told Gracie and had set this whole thing in motion back in December?

But there was more to it than that… First of all how could she have known?

I flash back to the first meeting between Ophelia and Hope just a few months ago in the infirmary. Ophelia had been staring at Hope for hours in an unsettling manner, until she was finally introduced after I woke up.

"_Hello Lily," Ophelia smiles at me briefly, and then her eyes immediately return to Hope. "And you must be Grace's -"_

"_Roommate," I interrupt her, before she can do any damage. "She's our new roommate, right H- I mean-"_

"_Hannah Smith," Hope lies smoothly, smiling and sticking out a hand. Ophelia accepts it, clutching it between both of her pale hands. _

"_I've been waiting to meet you for a long time."_

"_Have we met?" Hope asks, suddenly losing her smile._

"_Not formally," Ophelia says cryptically. _

She recognized her instantly, even in her disguise. We all chalked it up to Ophelia's weirdness and strange intuitiveness, but later Hope confessed to me that she remembered having seen Ophelia after the attack and her disastrous transformation into a six year old.

"_The last thing I remember I was sixteen, home on my winter holiday and my brother Harry was dying and I couldn't save him. But before he took his last breath he told me something…" _

"_What?" I ask curiously. _

"_That's what's so strange. My memories just stop. It's like there's a block there or something. I can't make myself go past it. When I try to go beyond that point I find myself back at that day when I woke up in the body of my six-year-old self with Ophelia hovering over me."_

"_Ophelia?" I interrupt her, thoroughly perplexed as to how her name suddenly came up. _

"_Of course, I could never place her until I met her in the Infirmary that day. It's been bothering me for a while, but I finally pieced it together a few days ago. Everything's still a bit fuzzy, but she must have brought me to Heather and Danny, or maybe that's just my first memory of her at the funeral."_

Again when I shared Hope's odd confession with James, we chalked it up to Ophelia's unique character. But now I'm wondering if perhaps Ophelia knew more than she was letting on all along. Maybe Ophelia knows everything. But why?

"You have the memory," Hope whispers again.

"Took you long enough," Ophelia chuckles darkly. "Now it might be too late."

"You could've told me."

"During the first three months your mind was in no condition to bear the truth," Ophelia reminds her.

"But later…"

"You're being watched. There's spies throughout the Ministry, St. Mungos and Hogwarts. No one can be trusted. But I did as much as I possibly could without endangering you or myself."

"Like what?" James butts in.

Ophelia looks over at us for the first time. She blinks at him as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

"How do you think Hope got to your home after her own was destroyed? I brought her there. Who told Grace that her mother wasn't dead? I did."

"That still doesn't explain-"

"I'm not finished," Ophelia interrupts James, turning back to Hope.

"You ask why I didn't tell you where the weapon was, I couldn't. You blocked your own memories and put a block on me as well. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone the full truth especially not you. But I did my best to pass it on to you, through someone else." She turns and looks right at me.

"Me?" I gape at her.

Ophelia nods.

"And now it's time for you to connect the dots because I've given you everything you need, Lily. Now you just need to piece it together."

James and Hope are now looking at me too as if it's up to me to save the world. I realize with a sinking heart that it is up to me because the block's still in place and Ophelia really can't tell them. So I have to, because she supposedly gave me all the puzzle pieces. But the only thing I can conclude from this mess is that I'm really puzzled and that Ophelia's crazy. Why on earth did Hope even entrust her with the memories in the first place? But I digress and I'm wasting precious time. It's up to me to save my best friend and my boyfriend and I have no idea how to do it.

I couldn't remember Ophelia having given me anything except bad advice. First she told my best friend to go hunting for her mother's dead body in a bloody mausoleum where I almost got murdered by a statue. And then she told me to hang on to some stupid book that bit people that the Marauders had nicked from the Slytherin dormitories. Despite the numerous defensive jinxes on it and the rumor that Wilkes and some other Slytherin had torn apart the library looking for it, _An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry_ had turned out to be a worthless book filled with fantastical legends surrounding powerful ancient magical weapons that probably didn't exist. These stories were like something right out of the _Quibbler. _For instance, there was this one story about some magical knight and his sword whose magical properties were so powerful that no one would even speak of it's name. But the last wielder Godric Gryffindor supposedly put the knight into an enchanted sleep in the halls of the dead until he could be commanded by a new master, who would be ruler of both the muggle and magical world and –

I bolt upright. Gracie had told me that the weapon that Hope was hiding was so powerful that it would make the wielder master of the muggle and magical world and everyone refused to speak its name by unspoken agreement. And Hope's brother Harry, the last owner that had been murdered for this weapon whose location he'd refused to give up, hadn't Hope and Gracie told me that Harry been a collector of magical artifacts, especially those belonging to the Hogwarts founders? It was probably just a crazy far-fetched coincidence, but seeing as I had no other leads, there was only one thing left to do.

"I need to go back to my dormitory. There's something I need to look up," I tell them, as my heart starts to beat faster in my chest. What if I'm wrong?

James jumps to his feet and helps me up.

"Come on," he urges, climbing the staircase with me in tow. "The Gryffindor Tower is right up these stairs."

Hope and Ophelia struggle to keep up with the breakneck pace James has set. By the time James drags me to the top, I'm out of breath and they're far behind. James shoves aside a second tapestry and yanks me around a corner. Suddenly we're standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady and outside of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Pewter Rocks!"

The portrait swings open and we smack right into James's girlfriend Tiffany Crowley and Remus Lupin.

"James!"

"Lily!"

I pause only for a moment to catch my breath.

"James, I need to talk to you," Tiffany whispers, snagging his sleeve.

"Not now, Tiff."

"James, it's important –"

"Later!" James shoves past her and reaches for my hand at the same moment that Hope, Ophelia and Sirius Black tumble into the common room behind us.

"What the hell happened?" Sirius explodes, going straight for James. "Where'd you go and where is Gracie? Is she alright-" Hope reaches up and claps her hand over his mouth. If the entire school gets wind of this information before we get to Wilkes, Grace and Rohan will both be dead. Thankfully there's only a few students that opted to stay inside on this gorgeous day. And of course there's Remus and Tiffany…

"What's going on?" Tiffany asks, frowning. "Grace looks perfectly fine to me," she adds, eyeing Hope suspiciously. I completely forgot that I had disguised Hope once again, this time to look like a carbon copy of her daughter.

"Nothing," I answer. "Nothing at all. I just forgot something in the dormitory. I'll be right back," I reassure Hope, Ophelia and James and then I fly up the steps to my dormitory.

As soon as I slam the door shut behind me, I throw open my trunk and start pawing through it. Clothes, books and dungbombs go flying across the room as I frantically dig through my trunk in search of that one elusive book that I'm almost certain contains a description of the unnameable weapon that we're looking for. But as my fingernails scrape the bottom of my trunk, I realize that it's not here. I sink back on my heels, wondering where else it could possibly be.

"What are you looking for?"

"A book," I answer, unthinkingly as I desperately try to remember what I did with the stupid book.

"This one?"

I spin around and find myself face to face with my despicable roommate, the banshee. Debbie McLaggen picks up the book that she'd been reading and holds it up for me to see.

It's the one that I'm looking for.

Shit. I've never seen Debbie read anything other than _Witch Weekly_ or _Teen Witch_ and even then, those magazines mostly consist of flashy advertisements and moving photographs. I'm not even sure if she can spell her own name. Something's wrong with this picture.

"Let me take a look at it," I say, holding out my hand. I only need a moment to flip to the page and skim it and then she can keep it forever.

Debbie pretends to think it over, tapping her bandaged chin. Clearly, she's still recovering from her last encounter with Tiffany Crowley a few hours ago.

"Hmm…" Her plastic smile – the one that I'm sure has been plastered on her face since the day she was born – reappears and she shakes her head. "No, I'm reading it."

"Debbie, that's my –"

"No, it's the library's book," she reminds me, stroking the letter H that's magically branded into a corner of the spine.

"But I took it out –"

"No, my Dante did," she corrects me. "And you stole it from him."

It takes me a moment before I remember that her Slytherin boyfriend Zabini does in fact have a first name. But when I do realize who she's talking about, a chill runs down my spine.

"I know what you're looking for, Lily," she giggles and winks at me in order to let me know that we're not simply discussing the book anymore. "But you won't find it, because I've got the key." She points to the book in her lap.

And now I realize that Ophelia is right. There are spies everywhere. And one of them had been planted in our dormitory right from the start.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I know it's a short chapter and that a lot of it is basically plot summary and flashbacks but I'm just so excited to finally have completed a chapter after so long! I promise the next chapter will be better. Thanks to everyone that reviewed. I can't tell you how much it means to me! Thanks especially **_**MrsHellman, D, Barbara Manatee – In the Flesh, ElCullen, DarkWiccanPrincess, TabithaChristine, vidia, Iratze, Malice is in Wonderland, sugar hiccup, bubble, LexingtonAveryPotter, Bee, Mimimi213, Irish Girl Xx, Alla, bravecandygirl, Rrue, MaytheMagicBeWithYou, ClearWater4Ever, NeverQuitDreaming, komgneh, WinterLizzy, crazyelf22, EroticHaywire, EvilFaerie17, RaeGurk, lovefrog159, JustCallMeDollface, Bubblelove1234, gitgit, Cherrysinger, DimondMoon, call-me-bee, alwaysalice, Simplyyinsanee, S.K. Greene, 814, Jaliy, Alex507, Tracy-Lovin'TwilightN'HPotter, , Vampires and Penguins, Rob-girl, NEVERMORE DARKNESS, An Aspiring Author, WhiteCamellia, TheFifthCharmedOne, Jessiquie, Loonynamelass, LoveGee, IloveJames, Princessita, oceanlover14, Trisana Sarrasri, xXthenextbookwormXx, Lenners, callmeGreen-Eyes, Reneesmee-worththefight, bella245, PatronusCharmBabe and Sarahrules336**_**. I'm so so sorry for the long delay but life takes over. Now that I don't have school to worry about I hope that I'm able to finish this story by the end of the summer and I intend to update as soon as possible. **


	38. The Key

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: If I got a penny every time I wish that I had half as great a brain as J., I'd be rich. I'm afraid some of the American slang, any grammatical errors or crazy plot ideas and characters do belong to me.**

**Summary of the last Chapter: James's mother is only injured but she is in St. Mungos and the Death Eaters did get to her memories first. Hope reveals that the memory that Heather had wasn't the real memory and that it was a decoy. They catch Ophelia eavesdropping on their private discussion and Hope realizes that Ophelia has her memories. Ophelia is pissed that her best friend is missing and claims that a block Hope put up is preventing her from telling them the location of the weapon. She tells them that she's given Lily everything she needs to locate the weapon. Lily recalls the biting book that James stole out of the Slytherin's dormitories and that Ophelia told her to hold onto and thinks that this might be a clue. She goes to get it but Debbie McLaggen already has it in her hands…**

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 36: Do You Remember?**_**.**

**Chapter 37: The Key**

"_I know what you're looking for, Lily," Debbie giggles and winks at me in order to let me know that we're not simply discussing the book anymore. "But you won't find it, because I've got the key." She points to the book in her lap. _

_And now I realize that Ophelia is right. There are spies everywhere. And one of them had been planted in our dormitory right from the start._

* * *

_*_What I want to do right now is bang my head into a wall, repeatedly because this cannot be happening. I just realized when I went to summon the book that I don't have my wand - Ophelia does - and that my roommate is a spy for the Death Eaters. The despicable slut, the banshee, our arch-nemesis, the Minister of Magic's daughter is a SPY.

Debbie McLaggen is one of the stupidest people I've ever met. She cares for only two things: herself and boys. She does not have the intelligence or the motivation to be a spy. Or so I thought…

Now it occurs to me that maybe she cares more for Zabini than I ever expected. It also occurs to me that perhaps there isn't much brain power involved in spying. Zabini just needed another set of eyes and ears. Still, no matter how much he loved Debbie I couldn't see him relying on her, because everyone knows that Tiffany, Grace, Alice, and I despise her. Even the Marauders and most of the other Gryffindors shun her. But somehow he did it and as my eyes flick past Debbie to the bejeweled "mirror" on her make-up laden vanity table I have a feeling that I know how he managed.

That's why I want to bang my head into a wall because it's been right under our noses for months. Way back in February, Grace knocked over the bureau and Tiffany, Hope and I found it and have been playing with it ever since. Tiffany and Grace had even speculated about how odd it was that Debbie had one of these rare magical artifacts. Then just last night James pulled me aside in the Common Room and warned me that he thought someone might be using it to spy on us. Well, James had been right about the spyglass, Zabini had been using it to spy on us all along, but his warning came just a little too late.

"Debbie, I just want to take an itty bitty look at the book, just for a split second and then you can give it right back to Zabini. Okay?" I inch forward and Debbie just smiles. So I dive for the book but the banshee sweeps it out of my reach and points her wand at my face.

"I'm not stupid!" Debbie laughs at me, keeping her wand pointed at my forehead.

Judging from her behavior up until five minutes ago, that's debatable.

"I don't think that you're stupid," I lie through my teeth.

"I know, Lily. I know that you really do love me," Debbie prattles, acting more like the Debbie we all know and hate. "I mean I have it all. Everyone wants to be me! That's why I kind of feel bad doing this to you because it is just a stupid book. I mean who reads books anyway. They're so boring!" She rolls her eyes. I almost roll mine too but there's a wand still pointed at my forehead.

"But even though I think it's a really dumb book. The pictures aren't even in COLOR! I mean really? What's the point of reading a book if it's all in black in white?" She shakes her head in disgust and I have to bite back the urge to laugh at her extreme stupidity.

"Anyways, despite it being so stupid my Dante wants it and my Daddy wants it."

Daddy wants it too? Wait, her father's the Minister of Magic!

"But no one seems to care what I want. And it's important that I get what _I_ want. Dante's been pestering me about this dumb book for weeks, and I just found it on the floor -"

I could kick myself for being such an idiot.

"So, I pick it up but I don't get it. Daddy and Dante told me it's the key, but it doesn't look like any key I've ever seen before."

Oh, my Merlin, is she serious right now?

"It's too big, you know? So maybe it transforms into a key or something, you know like in Transfiguration? But I never pay attention in Transfiguration. I just get all the boys to do my homework. Thinking's just so boring, you know? And why think when you can get someone else to do it for you if you just smile at them or shag them, but anyways I know that you like thinking. You read like all the time. And you pay attention in class all the time and you're so boring."

Excuse me?

"So, Dante and Daddy are all like oh, we need to get this thing so we can give it to our master. But I want it for myself, you know?"

She pauses and looks at me as if waiting for a response. I'm still trying to process the last sentence but I nod anyway. I'm almost positive that Zabini is a Death Eater, but the Minister of Magic? Perhaps I misheard her.

"I knew you'd understand, Lily," Debbie sighs in relief. "That's why I talked to you first. So, now you can take this key and go open the door and bring me back the thing so that I can be even more powerful and beautiful forever. Okay?"

She's letting me go, as long as I lie and promise to bring it back to her. Is it really that easy? I should be able to do that, I mean, it's not like she'll be able to tell like Ophelia if I'm lying or not. After all the awful things she's done to me and my friends over the years I won't even feel guilty about not keeping my word.

"Alright, Debbie. Why don't you give me the book, I mean the _key_, so that we can get to it before anyone else does."

"But I've got the key. They can't open it without the key!" Debbie reminds me.

"Right…" Mother of Merlin, I'm ashamed that I'm being held at wand point by someone this stupid. If Grace, Tiffany or Alice ever find out about this, I'm never going to live it down.

"I'll give it to you, Lily," Debbie says and I reach for the book. But Debbie accidentally or purposefully pokes me in the eye with her wand and whips the book once more out of my range.

"Actually, there is one more thing that I want you to promise me, Lily."

"Sure," I agree through gritted teeth as my left eye waters and burns.

"My Dante's become so boring since he got involved with this dead people stuff, so I was thinking that I should probably ditch him because he's not nearly as good in bed as he used to be. So, now that I got Tiffany to break up with James-"

Wait, what?

"-I think I'll ditch Zabini and move onto James because you know I never did get to shag him and a guy with those looks, I mean, he has to be good in bed! It's like a law. But anyway there's just one itty bitty problem. You've got him under a love spell."

I choke back a laugh.

"I know, Lily. I know you're like obsessed with him. But he's out of your league so just get over yourself and hand him over to me. Okay?"

I gape at her.

"Just promise me Lily that you'll stay away from James and then you can have the key, okay?"

She holds out the book to me. All I have to do is lie like I did before and say that I'll stay away from James. This should be easy, so incredibly easy. My best friend's life is on the line. The faster I lie, the faster I can rescue her and Rohan.

So, I open my mouth and tell her, "No."

Shit.

"What?" Debbie plastic smile falters. "I thought you just told me "No" but that can't be right. No one tells _me_ "No"."

I try again.

"No."

Bloody hell, what am I doing? Why can't I just lie to her? But I can't. For some reason, I just can't do it. Every time I try to form the words, James's face fills my mind and the word "No" comes out instead.

Debbie jabs her wand into my forehead and backs me right into the bedpost. The smile is wiped completely off of her face and is replaced with the rare scowl. She scrunches up her face that is rapidly turning an ugly shade of red. She's like a toddler preparing for a tantrum and I know what happens when a young witch or a wizard loses their temper. My heart rate skyrockets as I realize she's going to blow up in 10, 9, 8 –

"NO! You stay away from him! I want him so he's mine! All MINE! You can forget your stupid book and your stupid boyfriend I'm going to blast you into tiny-"

_Whack_!

Debbie's eyes lose their focus and her body suddenly slumps forward. I barely have enough time to jump out of the way before she crumples to the floor. I bend down to snatch her wand out of her slackened grip, narrowly missing a broomstick handle that materializes out of thin air and hits the back of Debbie's head again.

_TWHACK_!

"Sorry, Lily!" The broomstick clatters to the floor as two hands appear floating before me. "I just wanted to make sure I got her. I didn't mean to hit you, I'm so sorry!" James Potter whips off the invisibility cloak and meets me in the middle of the room with a bone crushing hug and a flood of apologies.

"James, I'm fine!" I reassure him, patting him on the back. I try to ignore the warmth that floods through me as he holds me closer. I'm reminded of the last few words Debbie and I exchanged and my face heats up. How much did he overhear?

James abruptly lets go of me and holds me at arm length.

"Are you alright?"

"Thanks to you I am. Good job," I say, nodding toward Debbie. "But what are you doing in here?" I wonder aloud, bringing up the age old question of how the Marauders manage to get past the magical barriers in the Girl's dormitories.

"Tiff mentioned that McLaggen was acting weird and I've been hearing some rumors about her family's dealings with alleged Death Eaters and I – I was worried about you," he blurts out. He removes his hands from my shoulders and rubs the back of his neck. I don't believe it, but he's blushing.

That has to be one of the cutest things James has ever said to me, but I'm not falling for it. I reach for him and gently take his hand away from his neck, turning him so that he's facing me again.

"That still doesn't explain how you got past the magical barriers," I point out, before he can sidestep the question again.

"And that is for me to know, and for you to find out." He smirks.

"Oh, I will. Trust me," I vow, smirking back at him. "But right now, we have to go rescue my friends."

"Ah, yes, Gracie and your _boyfriend_," he practically spits as his mood instantly sours.

"My _boyfriend _is the only reason why Grace is alive right now," I remind him.

"Look, Lily," James sighs, running his fingers through his unruly black hair. "It's not that I don't like Rohan."

I snort and prop my hands on my hips.

"You broke his nose twice and then you turned him into a dragon. Clearly, you don't like him."

"Alright at first I had my doubts about him," James admits guiltily. I raise my eyebrows.

"This morning you dropped a stack of books on his head," I point out.

"Fine, I don't like him!" he confesses. "But only because he's – he's not right for you. He's just too -" James sputters out at a loss for words.

I roll my eyes and turn my back on him. I don't have time to listen to another one of his jealous rants. But James grabs my hand and tugs me back around to face him. We're so alarmingly close that I have to catch my breath. For a moment we just stare at each other and I remember the moment that we had earlier in the corridor when I told him I wanted to forget about everything and break all the rules. I wonder if he knows how badly I wanted him to kiss me then. Will he kiss me now?

"I know that you don't love him," he says softly.

It takes me a few seconds before I recall that we're talking about my boyfriend. Yea, _that_ boyfriend, you know the one that basically sacrificed his life to save my best friend who probably won't survive. And once again it all comes crashing down on me, disrupting every fantasy I had of me and James snogging.

"James, don't –" I whisper, pulling away from him. "If we want to save Grace and Rohan then we can't afford to lose any more time."

"Right," James agrees. He immediately releases me and wanders off to the other side of the room in a daze.

In an effort to clear my head and get myself back on the right track, I search for the book. I find it beneath one of Debbie's motionless elbows and stoop to retrieve it.

I sit down on her bed and open _An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry. _I can remember the first time I was supposed to meet Rohan in the library. I was late because I was talking to Tiffany about James and conveniently forgot about our "date". Rohan crept up behind me and started reading from this same book before it bit him. Then I got us kicked out of the library and he asked me out on a "real" date but that's another story. After it bit Rohan, Ophelia took one look at it and told me to make sure that it didn't fall into the wrong hands. Now, as I open to the page that Rohan read from months ago, I finally know why.

"_One of the oldest magical weapons, the Unnameable Weapon has appeared in ancient texts dating back to 2000 B.C. and is said to be a warrior that takes on the form of whatever the chosen wielder or master is looking for. It was spoken of in myths over the centuries in civilizations all over the world and the properties of this potential warrior was said to be so powerful that its name was never spoken of. Only the wielder, it was said, would know the name and understand when it was to be used. The only written "proof" we have of the weapon is found in the diaries of Glynda Gryffinmoon, an alleged great-grandchild of the great Hogwarts founder Godric Gryffindor who claims that Godric was the last one to wield the weapon and unleash its power. The weapon according to Glynda's account took on the form of a medieval knight and wielded a deadly sword that fell each and every potential foe. Glynda writes that Godric was so frightened by the power and the effect that it had on him that he destroyed the weapon. Other sources say that Godric only put the knight into an enchanted sleep and that it lies in wait for the next heir. Popular legend has it that the weapon's still in existence and one document claims that it was hidden by one of the heirs deep within the depths of the dead."_

My eyes move to the opposite page where there is an illustration of a glowing suit of armor holding a sword. I peer closely at the dark jewels decorating the hilt. Even though it's only a drawing, and it's in black and white, I'm almost certain that those are rubies on the hilt and that I've seen it before.

In fact, I think I know exactly where the weapon was hidden because it's still there.

"It was hidden by one of the heirs in the depths of the dead," I repeat softly. "That's it, James, that's where it is!"

"That's only a metaphor," James dismisses me from where he stands with his back to me, examining something on Debbie's bureau.

"No, James, look!" I yank on his sleeve and pull him down onto the bed beside me. I thrust the book beneath his nose and point to the illustration.

"Don't you recognize it?" I ask him.

James takes the book from me and studies the drawing of the knight.

"One of the heirs buried it in the depths of the dead. Hope once told me that the Moons are descended from Godric Gryffindor and the weapon…" I trail off as in my mind I flash back to the last time I saw the weapon.

It was the night of the disastrous Yule Ball, when Grace decided she was going to go hunting for her mother. We had just decided on which way we should go when…

_Gracie stops short and I bump into James. Sirius comes very close to lighting my hair on fire._

"_Damn, this isn't it!" Gracie steps forward revealing a dead end and…_

_I scream._

_James clamps a hand over my mouth, muffling the noise. Gracie and Sirius twist around fearfully, moving their light to find the source of my scare. The shadowy figure, which I mistook as a walking corpse, becomes a mere suit of armor in the light. I relax, and James removes his hand._

"_No one's going to hear us, they're dead," I grumble, blushing in embarrassment. I carefully avoid the other's eyes but I can see Gracie and Sirius out of the corner of my eye, suppressing a laugh._

"_Don't be so sure," James says softly, turning to go._

_I steal a look over my shoulder, watching as the silent Knight falls back into the shadows and sinks into the darkness. What an unusual place for a suit of armor…_

"_Come on, Lily!" James calls. The light of his wand catches on the rubies in the sword hilt of the Knight. I tear my eyes from the sparkling rubies, hurrying after them._

James gaze snaps to mine and I know that he's remembering that encounter as well. But then a moment later he's shaking his head and tossing the book aside.

"No, Lily. It's just a story," he dismisses it. He gets to his feet and returns to the banshee's bureau, poking through her mounds of makeup and the rest of her beauty paraphernalia with his wand.

"But don't you see, James? It's in the mausoleum!" I inform him excitedly. I pick up the book and follow him over to the bureau. James avoids my gaze and instead concentrates on knocking every single bottle of makeup off of the bureau and onto the floor.

"That's why Ophelia told Grace to go looking for her mother's body. She was leading us right to the weapon in the Moon Mausoleum!"

James points his wand at the mirror.

BANG!

Several of the little makeup bottles simultaneously explode in a cloud of glittery powder and smoke. I cough and wave it away from my face. I wipe something green and gooey off my cheek. When I'm sure that I didn't get any of it in my eye I see that James's robe is covered in something pink and sparkly that might be Debbie's "Pretty Slutty In Pink" nail polish. In addition to this he's got Debbie's favorite shade of eye shadow "Voluptuous Violet" in his hair.

"You look very pretty in pink," I compliment him, struggling to keep a straight face.

James glares at me.

If the situation was different I would have dug out Tiffany's camera.

Speaking of James's lovely girlfriend…

"We couldn't find it, James. We looked everywhere!" Tiffany exclaims as she leans against the door frame to catch her breath. She cocks her head to the side and frowns at our appearances. "What happened to you two?"

"Don't ask," James grumbles, kicking the bureau.

"Prongs, I must say "Voluptuous Violet" was a very wise decision," Sirius observes as he joins Tiffany in the doorway with a nod of approval. "It brings out your inner witch."

"Funny," James deadpans as he picks up the mirror.

"No, I'm Sirius."

"Doesn't that joke ever get old?" I wonder, rolling my eyes.

"Nope."

"Hey, that's the spyglass! You found it James!" Tiffany practically squeals, clapping her hands together.

The spyglass! I look at the little bejeweled mirror in James's hands that he tried to blowup a minute ago resulting in the pink and purple catastrophe. All at once I know why James had dismissed me so quickly and had pretended not to have any recollection of that night in the mausoleum when we first saw it and why he was trying to destroy the banshee's makeup collection. He was trying to find the spyglass and turn it off before I could say anything. Because now I could see that it was on and that Zabini or whoever else was tapping into it to spy on us, probably now knew the location of the weapon as well.

Thanks to me.

I can feel the color draining out of my face as James looks at me.

"I'm such an idiot," I groan. "James, I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," James cuts me off. "You're not to blame for this."

"But-"

James silences me by giving me a look and stepping closer so that he can hand me the spyglass.

"I don't get it. What happened?" Tiffany inquires, looking very perplexed.

I try to ignore everyone else in the room as I run my fingers over the Bewitching Spyglass. But my hands are shaking as they come to the jewel shaped knobs around the glass. I know that James wants me to shut it off, but all I can think about is Grace and Rohan. The Death Eaters are probably already there and no matter what James may believe, I'm to blame.

"Lily?"

James had refused to answer Tiffany's inquiries so now she appealed to me. Instead of answering her question I throw her the spyglass.

"Catch!"

Tiffany catches it clumsily and looks at me.

"Shut it off," I mouth to her.

Tiffany's brow creases but her fingers move deftly over the knobs, twisting and turning them until the jewels on the side stop sparkling. The soft humming noise coming from the instrument abruptly stops and the silence fills up the room.

"Now, someone better start explaining," Tiffany says. "Because I know that something's wrong with Gracie."

"And I want to know where the hell she is and if she's still alive." Sirius folds his arms across his chest and there's a familiar stubborn gleam in Tiffany's eyes. Neither one of them are leaving.

"You're wasting our time," I tell them. "We don't have time to explain. We need to go rescue her right now."

"Rescue her? But she's downstairs having an attack in the Common Room. Ophelia and Remus sealed off the Common Room but she's still – that's not Grace is it?" Tiffany realizes. "So, the rumors are true?"

"What rumors?" James asks.

"There's a rumor going around that some Gryffindors got into a fight with the Slytherin quidditch team. A lot of people are saying that a couple people were hurt pretty badly and that someone died…" Tiffany trails off and exchanges a look with Sirius.

"A few people said it was Wilkes, some people said it was Hannah, others said it was you, some were even saying that it was Rohan. Isn't that silly?" Tiffany forces a weak laugh. "As soon as I heard that one, I knew it wasn't true. But most of the rumors said that Grace's the one that died. I laughed at that one, but then I couldn't find her anywhere and if that's not Grace downstairs…"

"She's alright now, isn't she?" Sirius asks desperately.

Tiffany and Sirius shoot us a pleading look of desperation. They want us to tell them that the rumors are wrong. But we can't.

Sighing, I quickly fill them in using as few words as possible. Sirius pales and Tiffany's eyes fill with tears as I finish.

"But she's going to be okay? Right?" Sirius asks again. Tiffany chokes back a sob when she sees the look that James and I exchange.

"What are we doing here? We have to go get that weapon and find her!" Sirius exclaims.

Tiffany sniffles and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand as she pulls herself together.

"I'm ready," she says.

Great. Not only do I lead the Death Eaters straight to my best friend and my boyfriend but now thanks to me and my big fat mouth two more of my friends are going to march into the face of death. No, I can't allow that and judging by James's expression he's on the same page. Quickly I search for an excuse, and looking around the room, I find one.

"Someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on the banshee," I point out, gesturing to the lump of clothes on the floor that until now I'd forgotten about.

Tiffany flicks her wand and the banshee rises up into the air. She levitates the body across the room, slamming Debbie's head into the doors of the banshee's closet.

"Whoops," she deadpans.

As the body crumples to the floor, Sirius raises his own wand and the doors to the closet open wide. Tiffany levitates the body into the closet where it's quickly hidden by the banshee's overflowing wardrobe. The doors slam shut behind it, and with a little help from Sirius's wand again she's sealed inside the closet chamber for at least a few more hours.

"Problem solved," Tiffany says, turning back to us.

I've run out of excuses and we've already wasted too much time. With a sigh of resignation James takes me and Tiffany by the arm and leads us to the doorway.

"We'll meet you in the Common Room where we can discuss this further," he says, looking pointedly at Tiffany. Then he turns back to speak with Sirius.

When Tiffany and I reach the Common Room, Alice nearly knocks us over. Once she regains her footing, she grabs onto me.

"Oh, thank Merlin you're here! They just sent me to get you." She drags me toward the only group of people left in the Common Room. Ophelia, Remus, and Alice's boyfriend Frank Longbottom have all gathered around the sofa. As we approach them, Remus and Frank step back, allowing me to see that Hope is stretched out across the sofa and she looks awful.

"What happened?" I gasp. When I left Hope, she'd been shaken but completely fine. It couldn't have been more than a half hour since I left her but now her face is white and damp with sweat. Her eyes are shut and even though I call her name she doesn't open them. Ophelia kneels next to her wiping her sweaty hair off of her face and holding her hand.

"She started having some sort of seizure right after you went up to the dormitory," Alice explains in a hushed voice as James and Sirius join us.

"Do you think it was something Wilkes did to her?" I ask Ophelia, referring to the Slytherin Death Eater that had definitely done something horrible to Hope while I went to get a healer for Grace.

"Maybe," Ophelia says, biting her lip as Hope clamps down on her hand again. "Or perhaps it's something Rohan's done…"

"You think that Rohan did this to her?" Surely I heard her wrong.

Just then the portrait swings open. The Head Girl Mary Pewter climbs through. Her corkscrew curls are askew and her face is flushed as if she'd been running. The Head Boy, Eddie Bones is right behind her, but he stops at the sight of Hope. Mary starts rummaging through her bag.

"Did you get it?" Ophelia asks.

"Yea, luckily none of Rohan's roommates were there and Eddie and I were able to search his room without any problems. I hope that we got the right ones, he had a lot of similar ones in there and not many of them were labeled," she says in a rush as she finally takes out a thin vial of silvery blue liquid.

"Good Golly! What in Merlin's name has happened now?" she gasps, staring down at Hope.

"Bloody hell!" Eddie swears under his breath as he leans closer for a peek at Hope's face. "Is that Hope Adams?"

"I'll explain later, uncork the vial and give it to me," Ophelia orders, holding out her hand. Mary obediently opens it and passes the vial of silvery liquid to Ophelia.

Sensing she's going to need help, I squeeze between James and Remus and crouch down beside Ophelia. I peel Hope's fingers off of Ophelia's and then help her to raise Hope into a sitting position. I'm shocked by how hot she is. Her condition reminds me of how Grace was immediately after she was hit with Wilke's _Adflictacius_ curse.

Hope moans and turns her head away when Ophelia tries to feed it to her. Ophelia instructs me to hold her jaw open and when Hope opens her mouth for another labored breath, she pours it down. Hope gags and coughs but Ophelia somehow forces her to swallow all of it. Ophelia presses the back of her hand to Hope's sweltering forehead and then calls over her shoulder.

"You got two, right?"

Eddie is already digging through Mary's bag. A moment later he uncorks a second vial of the same silvery blue liquid and again passes it to Ophelia. Hope is a little more cooperative this time and she swallows it in one gulp though she grimaces.

Ophelia nods to me and we lower back onto the sofa. It's remarkable but already it seems as if Hope's body temperature is cooling. Ophelia sweeps her wand over Hope, checking her vital signs as I saw Rohan do with Grace. Both Ophelia and Hope's face begins to relax and I know that Hope's going to be okay. For now.

"Now, we just have to wait a bit," Ophelia says softly.

"What was that stuff you gave her?" I whisper in awe, wondering what this miracle potion could possibly be.

"Unicorn blood."

"Unicorn blood?" I gasp. I had of course read about the elixir like properties of unicorn blood. But unicorns were innocent and defenseless animals and unicorn blood was so pure, that if one killed a unicorn for its blood the drinker could only live a cursed or half life.

"Ophelia, what were you thinking?"

"She needs more time, Lily," Ophelia whispers back to me so that the others can't overhear. "We're losing her fast."

"But she was fine!" I glance at James - who's watching his aunt worriedly as Tiffany and Sirius bring the others up to speed with his help - and my heart goes out to him.

"I know, but Wilkes must've done something to her or perhaps Rohan…" she tapers off.

"What about Rohan?" I prompt her since I find it very hard to believe that the boy that I had been dating for the past two months, that had just risked his life to save my best friend, could have done something like this to Hope.

"It's quite possible that Rohan could've figured out a way to save Gracie from the _Adflictacius _curse. Perhaps even with a little bit of Hope's help."

"I'm not following."

"Well, I'm not sure, because I'm not Rohan but after Rohan's grandfather died of the curse-"

"Rohan's grandfather died of the _Adflictacius_ curse!" I interrupt her.

Ophelia nods.

"He survived in a coma for months before the Death Eater that cast the curse finally got everything he wanted from him and severed the bond. After that Rohan became an expert on the curse and read everything he could find on it. He even did some experiments…" she tapers off and both of us look at the empty vials on the floor beside us.

"You didn't kill the unicorn, did you?"

"No." Ophelia shakes her head. "It was an old unicorn on its way out. We had no right to take the blood, but we never intended it for ourselves so…" She shrugs but glances at Hope guiltily. "It wasn't her choice though, so if anyone's damned…"

"You were saying something about Gracie," I recall, moving us back to the subject at hand before her mind can wander down that road. Fortunately, crises always cleared Ophelia's head.

"Of course, as I was saying, Rohan's been studying the bond that develops between the caster of the curse and the victim. And naturally this led to the exploration and comparison of other magical bonds that develop between people."

"You mean like when a witch and a wizard become promised to one another?" I offer, glancing at James and blushing when Ophelia catches me.

"Yes, I suppose." She studies me for a moment with the faintest trace of a smile before she glances at Hope and it slips away. "But Rohan was more interested in the bond that develops between a mother and child."

"Why?"

"I'm not quite sure, but it's a powerful bond. Blood bonds have always had a binding effect upon people, even muggles. It's an ancient more primitive form of magic. Rohan and I always wondered what one could do with that kind of magic, if one could tap into it properly. Blood magic's always been involved in dark magic but if one used it for good or even to combat the dark magic…"

She trails off and I know that she's deep within her mind continuing the discussion without me. But I'd gotten the gist of the theory. From what I gathered, it sounded like Rohan was using the bond between Grace and Hope to break the bond between Wilkes and Grace. But it could only be done by transferring some of the effects of the curse to Hope rather than Gracie. Perhaps he'd somehow managed to bond Wilkes to Hope. Like Ophelia said, we don't know what Rohan is doing or even if he's still alive. But it's curious that Hope's acting as if she's suffering from the curse. Though it's quite possible Wilkes had done something to her that could have brought about the same reaction while I was searching for Rohan, or perhaps even while they were dueling earlier.

"Gracie? Where's Gracie?" Hope's weak voice snaps me out of my reverie. Obviously the unicorn blood is working because now she's sitting up and looking a lot better than she did when I first walked in. Despite her improvements though, she still looks terrible.

"We need to get her to the infirmary," James speaks up.

"No, no infirmary!" Hope protests with a shudder. She thinks Madam Pomfrey has it in for her.

I expect Ophelia to agree with James, but to my surprise she sides with Hope.

"No infirmary, James. That won't be necessary."

"Ophelia, she's ill!" James argues.

"She can barely sit up!" I point out, wondering not for the first time if Ophelia's lost her mind.

"You're feeling better though, aren't you, Hope?" Ophelia inquires of her patient.

"Yes, much better," Hope agrees with a small smile for Ophelia. "I'm fine, James and Lily. Really," she responds to the skeptical and worried gazes of everyone else. "I'm perfectly well enough to get Grace and Rohan."

"You're clearly not fine and you're not coming with us," James tells her firmly.

"I am," Hope answers and I see a familiar spark in her eyes. "And you're not going to stop me."

Hope gets to her feet to face James and for a moment it looks like she might actually win the argument, until she loses her balance and has to sit back down.

"I'm fine!" she snaps, brushing James and me aside when we try to help her. "I just need to rest for a minute," she insists.

"Ophelia this is insane, she needs to go the infirmary," I say, rounding on her because I have a hunch that she's the only one that could make Hope go there.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I wish the circumstances were different but Hope has to come with us to get Grace."

"Why?" James demands.

"Because," Hope explains from her seat on the sofa. "I made the deal with Wilkes. So if I don't show up. There's no chance of getting either Gracie or Rohan back."

"I'm sure we can deliver the message since Ophelia knows everything and Lily figured it out. Besides you're just going to slow us down."

For the first time Hope looks hesitant and doubtful. James seizes upon this opportunity as he continues,

"Already we've wasted a lot of time. The deal could be off right now and if that's the case than we need to get to the weapon first."

"You'll need me then," Hope reminds him.

"I can take care of the doors," James assures her.

"That's not the issue, James," Ophelia cuts in.

"Then what's the problem?" James folds his arms over his chest and glares at them both. Ophelia and Hope exchange a meaningful look and suddenly it hits me. Why would Ophelia give Hope unicorn blood unless…

"The problem is that I'm the wielder of the weapon," Hope whispers.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry! I think I had some formatting issues with this chapter. At least it's longer than the last chapter, but still kind of short. I meant to get this up sooner but I went to the beach for the long weekend. There was a little L/J interaction but I'm hoping there will be more in the next chapter. I already have at least one scene between them that's coming up soon that I've had in my head for a very long time and I'm really excited to get to it. Thanks again to everyone that reviewed, especially harrypotter713, trixR4kids869, , MrsHellman, Renesmee-worththefight, WhiteCamellia, SimplyyInsanee, Clearwater4ever, CC Chels, gurugirl, desirable69, holly, callmeGreen-Eyes, cia777, Jaliy, UnbreakableLittleMind15, Lizzar, PatronusCharmBabe, Sarahrules366, JustCallMeDollface, Jessiquie, gitgit, ElCullen, HarryPotterResidentEvilFanJnL, TheFifthCharmedOne, Laguna, Aepple, and TwilightLover101099! I'm still shocked that you guys stuck with me for so long! Thank you! Let me know what you think!**


	39. Hide and Seek

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the wonderful world of Harry Potter. **

**Summary of the last chapter: Lily is held at wand point by the banshee and discovers that Debbie McLaggen is a spy for her Slytherin boyfriend Zabini and her father the Minister of Magic who also wants the weapon. Debbie wants the weapon and James for herself but Lily refuses to stay away from James. James rescues Lily from the banshee by knocking her out with a broomstick. Lily gets the book back and realizes that the weapon is in the Moon mausoleum and that she saw it the last time she was in there when Grace went looking for her mother's tomb. Lily reveals this information to James, who still hasn't managed to shut the spyglass off, therefore allowing Zabini to hear everything and the Death Eaters to learn of the location of the weapon. Lily and James have to explain what happened to Grace to their friends. Hope falls seriously ill, and Ophelia uses unicorn blood to cure her temporarily. Ophelia confesses that she thinks that Rohan may have found a way to save Gracie from the effects of the **_**Adflictacius**_** curse but only by transferring the effects to Hope. This is a problem because Hope has to go with them to get the weapon, because she is the wielder of the weapon. **

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 36: Do You Remember?**_**.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Sorry guys there is a lot of explanation in the beginning of this chapter, but hopefully it will explain away the last of the questions and if I don't do it now I'll never get to it. **

**Chapter 38: Hide and Seek**

Silence fills up the Common Room as the weight of Hope's revelation is absorbed by each and every one of us. Most of the faces around me reflect confusion, but even if they don't totally understand what's been going on and what this weapon consists of, Hope's last words transform her into a frighteningly powerful figure. It's as if we've suddenly become aware that this isn't the same girl that spent the last few months hiding from Madam Pomfrey, crashing parties in Slytherin, lounging around the Common Room, and complaining about the professors and the obscene amount of homework they give out, just like everyone else. No, this isn't "Hannah Smith" but _the_ Hope Adams: Gracie's mother, one of the Ministry's top employees, survivor of a Death Eater attack, and now a wielder of an unnameable weapon with potential to make the user the ruler of both the muggle and magical worlds.

"You're the wielder of the weapon?" James is the only one among us that isn't totally convinced.

Hope nods. Even though I myself connected the dots and understood that Ophelia wouldn't encourage Hope to go unless this was the case, I still have as many questions as James does.

"But how can you be so sure? I thought you put up a block on your memories and silenced Ophelia as well."

Hope turns to me.

"I did black out the memories that involved the _location_ of the weapon. And at first, after my mind was shattered I thought that I had deliberately gotten rid of everything. But as the healing began my memories always circled back to the night that my brother Harry died even though I couldn't remember what happened immediately afterward. No memory spell is permanent through and I recall that when the Dark Lord tracked him down, he assumed that Harry being the heir of Godric Gryffindor not only knew the weapon's location but that he was also the wielder. But he was mistaken." Hope hesitates for a moment before continuing.

"I always knew that Harry died to protect me. Obviously it was because he loved me. He passed on the secret of the location to me because he loved and trusted me, but also because he knew that I was the one who could wield it."

"But how did he know?" I wonder.

Again Hope pauses and this time her gaze travels to James.

"There was another one that was rumored to be the wielder… The thing about being a wielder is that you can sense the weapon. You're drawn to it. It's sort of like the relationship you have with your wand. The wand chooses the witch or wizard, not the other way around. Anyway the rumors grew when a very old pure-blooded family that was also descended from Gryffindor and very close to ours was attacked. A seventeen-year old girl, Agrippa Potter was killed."

James looks down at his hands and I recall that James had already shared this with me. This was before Hope's full memory returned when she decided that Grace had to be descended from Mark Adams and Agrippa Potter since they were dating at the time when her memories stopped at the age of sixteen. It also explained why Mark and Hope had chosen Agrippa for Grace's middle name.

"It was a horrible tragedy."

Hope stares at James, probably seeing a resemblance to his aunt, for a very long moment before continuing.

"After Agrippa Potter was murdered, Harry basically lost his mind, feeling in some way that he alone was responsible. He panicked and went looking for the weapon. Perhaps he was paranoid and wanted to move it to a new location, or maybe he was going to try to destroy it, or even try to wield it himself… I'm not sure. But December of 1951, when I was in my Sixth Year and on holiday, he brought it home one day and locked himself in his room…" she tapers off and her eyes take on a far away look as if her mind is years away, reliving that day.

"Of course I was drawn to it. The call of it was so strong that I was able to break through all of Harry's wards without using my wand. When I got into the room and was able to touch it…"

A ghost of a smile crosses her lips.

"Well, we both knew what it meant. But unfortunately so did every other magical being within a ten mile radius. I was young and inexperienced. Harry was barely able to stop me from doing something rash. The rush of power, it was so intense…" she shakes her head and flexes her wand hand as if remembering it.

"Harry was afraid of what I might have done had he not been there. So, he convinced me to go stay with Mark Adams for a bit and hid the weapon again while he tried to figure out what to do about it. But the other rumored wielder had felt the tug of power. Because of what I had done, he was able to track us and break into our home. A few days later he was waiting for Harry in his room, but Harry refused to give up the hiding place. The murderer was going to try everything to get it out of him. Harry knew that there was only one way that he could save the secret of the location and me."

I hold my breath, though I have a hunch that I already know what Harry did.

"So, he killed himself," she whispers, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. "I found him dying, but he wouldn't let me save him. He had to die, so that the murderer would think that the secret died with him. And it probably would have died with him, if I hadn't decided last summer that I was going to use the weapon."

I hear a few gasps, and see a lot of eyes widening around me. But James and Sirius look almost as if they were expecting to hear this.

"It was a stupid idea but the Death Eaters were growing in power. More and more innocent people went "missing", and Mark and I decided that something had to be done about it before it was too late. We knew that we couldn't attempt it alone though. There were a lot of people who felt the same way and were prepared to lay their life on the line. So we gathered a small select group of the best and the brightest and told them of the weapon's existence."

"We gave out several false locations of the weapons just to be sure that we could trust them or in the case that they were tortured for information, the Death Eaters would be led astray. A few weeks into the project, one of the possible "locations" was blown up. A muggle antique store on the border of Diagon Alley."

Wait a second, hadn't I read about that in the muggle newspaper way back in August? I had even saved the clipping because I thought that I recognized the place. I'd never actually gotten around to investigating it though because of everything else that had happened immediately after that. I guess it doesn't matter now.

"When they realized they had false information they went after others in the group, the former Minister of Magic, Rohan's grandfather, was among the victims…"

"Of course I knew someone had betrayed us and that it would be only a matter of time before they came after us. Mark and I started making preparations and with the help of the others like Crowley," Hope says, nodding to Tiffany as she acknowledges her late father's help. "We were able to set up more decoys and buy ourselves some more time. In the case that I was attacked, a spell was developed so that my memories would be placed in the care of someone that I didn't know very well and a block would be put up."

"We thought we had more time to develop the protection spells, but a week later they came for us…" A shadow crosses Hope's face as she struggles to continue.

"I don't remember really what happened, but the spell must have been activated and Ophelia must have been the one that was selected to hold onto my memories." She turns to look at Ophelia. "After all your father Auror Kenny was and still is one of the most trusted members of our group. But clearly there's still a traitor among us since Crowley and Thomas were targeted and killed in the Yuletide Ministry massacre. Last week my healer, another member of our group was killed, and of course my sister was attacked earlier today."

I look at James to see his reaction but Ophelia's face arrests my gaze. The serene mask has fallen away again and her eyes blaze with something akin to anger. Her face twists into an expression of anguish until she catches me looking at her. A half second later, her face is so blank and emotionless that I wonder if I imagined the whole change.

"I wish there was more that I could tell you, but some of my memories are still blocked," she sighs as if sick of talking. The color has returned to her face and the sweat dried, making her look a lot better than she did before. The unicorn blood worked well.

"Lily, do you know where the weapon is?" she asks.

"Yes, it's in your family's mausoleum."

"Are you sure?" The question throws me for a loop, but my answer is even more puzzling.

"I'm certain." Despite the doubts that I had earlier that it was just one of many odd coincidences that led me to that conclusion, I'm absolutely, positively, one hundred percent sure that the weapon is buried in the mausoleum in the exact spot where I saw it last.

Hope studies me for a long moment and then she nods.

"That would explain why my brother and I had such easy access to it and why we felt so secure with its hiding place. Ancient blood bonds protect that mausoleum. It isn't easy to get in and it's even harder to get out," she says, glancing at me, Sirius and James. We probably would have spent last Christmas dying a slow death down there if Hope hadn't come to our rescue.

"Now, that I've got my strength back I need to get to the weapon," Hope says, sitting up straighter and taking control. "Here's the plan. We'll use the floo network to get to the house. James and I are keyed into the wards."

"Sirius is too," James interrupts her.

"And me," I remind him. But I can tell by the look on his face that James doesn't particularly like this idea.

"It's too dangerous."

I roll my eyes. Now is not the time for him to go all macho and chauvinist on me.

"Lily, the Death Eaters already broke into my house once today. Chances are they're going to be there waiting for us when we get there," he argues.

"That's exactly why you'll need me to go with you," I point out.

"And you'll need us too," Tiffany pipes up as she links arms with Alice and Remus. Frank nods and wraps his arm around Alice's waist. Eddie and Mary already have their wands out and ready.

James turns to me and makes a face as if to say, "Now, look what you've done".

"I hate to admit this but Lily's right, James," Hope sighs. "If there's a lot of Death Eaters waiting for us, then there's no way that I'll ever reach the weapon. And I need to get to that weapon. If I don't get to it first then we won't be able to use it against the Death Eaters or use it as a bargaining chip to get Grace and Rohan back alive. And then it will be over."

"But if you're the wielder than only you should be able to get to the weapon, right?" James asks hesitantly.

"No, James. Though I am a wielder, I'm probably not the only one able to wield the weapon. Part of the charm of the weapon is that when one is chosen there's usually another as well. The result of this is that instead of using it for some higher purpose the wielder will use all of his or her power to exact revenge on and destroy the competition. My brother Harry was murdered by another who was rumored to have been chosen. That murderer is still at large, and he'll be waiting for us when we get there."

"Who?" I ask.

Hope turns to look at me, and I see the answer in her grave expression, long before she answers my query.

"The other wielder that murdered my brother was a man by the name of Tom Riddle. Today, we call him the Dark Lord."

So, now not only is a bunch of bloodthirsty Death Eaters going to be waiting for us, but the Dark Lord himself is going to be there. Oh, and he just so happens to be an alleged wielder of this deadly weapon as well. Excellent. Our chances of getting Grace and Rohan back and getting to the weapon first just went from slim to none.

"Okay, first order of business," Hope says, clapping her hands together. "I need a wand."

Ophelia earns several curious looks as she reaches into her robe and retrieves and returns wands to Hope, James and I. I had almost forgotten that she had confiscated them while she grilled us for information about Rohan's whereabouts.

"Look, I stole the staff's remaining supply of floo powder." Hope reaches into her robes and removes a wilted leather pouch. She frowns as she weighs it in her hand. "I'm afraid I might have spilt most of it on the race back here. There might be enough for three trips if we go two at a time," she speculates, eyeing the fireplace in front of us. "This one's monitored, but not blocked, which shouldn't concern us since secrecy is no longer the primary issue."

She points her wand at the fireplace and with a flick of her wrist the fireplace is rejuvenated, this time with shimmering emerald flames that cast an eerie glow on all of our faces. We glance at each other and all at once the nerves are back as we're reminded of what will be waiting for us on the other side of those flames. It should have been terrifying, but most of the gravity of the situation seems to have been lost on those that weren't there to witness the encounter I had with Wilkes earlier. Instead of raw fear there's an almost tangible excitement passing between them like electricity.

"I don't think that we have enough floo powder," Hope says. "So, two people should stay here to explain everything to Dumbledore and to keep this line open and serve as a contact in case something does go wrong…"

Before she even finishes, the arguments and protests begin.

"Mary can do that and maybe-"

"I'm at the top of our class and there's no reason why I should stay behind like some bloody coward, Eddie! Make the Sixth Years stay behind. They can't even apparate."

"Fine. Tiffany and Alice will stay."

"I'm not leaving Frank!

"Grace is our best mate! You can't stop us from coming!"

"That's a little sexist don't you think? Making the women stay behind as if we're not capable of holding our own."

"I didn't mean it like that! I only meant…"

While everyone else was busy squabbling over who should be left behind, I noticed James sneaking away. He was so busy making sure that no one saw him that I was able to approach the other side of the fireplace and snatch up the leather pouch from the mantle before he caught on to what I was doing.

"Come on, let's go," I whisper to him. James frowns and looks as if he wants to argue with me again but I hold up the leather pouch.

"You and I both know that we're wasting time, and I've got the floo powder so let's just go."

"But-"

I shut him up when I pour out enough floo powder for the both of us and replace the bag on the mantle. Holding the powder tightly in a closed sweaty fist, I step up to the fireplace beside him.

"Lily, wait-" James stops me with a tug on my free hand. He leans closer to me and I feel his warm breath tickling my ear as he whispers,

"If anything happens to you-"

"Nothing's going to happen to me," I interrupt him.

"You're right. Nothing will happen to _you_. _I'll_ make sure of that." I smile and blush because the words are spoken so bravely, and honestly, and with a kind of open affection I've only seen him use with his cousin Gracie. "But, Lily, in case something happens to me."

My breath comes up short and I get a sick feeling in my stomach at the very thought of something happening to James too. The thought pains James as well, because he swallows audibly in my ear, as he presses closer.

"In case something does happen, I just want you to know Lily that I care about you a lot, and that I – I-"

"James!" I snap, squeezing his hand hard and turning to look at him. His face is inches from mine and the fear is nearly palpable in his eyes. I know in that moment what he was going to say and I know why I won't let him finish. I'm scared that this is going to be another death bed confession.

"We're going to be fine," I reassure him. "Just f-fine." My voice cracks and I force myself to look away from his eyes, terrified that I'll see my own fear reflecting in those hazel orbs and do something irrational. James squeezes my hand back and both of us are holding on so tightly that I think I might be losing feeling in my fingers.

"Ready?" I ask shakily.

"On three," James answers. "One, two-"

I wait for him to finish, but he doesn't. I turn my head to look at him, just as he bends his head to kiss me.

I tilt my face up and close my eyes, savoring the feeling of his lips pressed against mine. But the kiss is close-mouthed and chaste. It's barely a peck and so brief that it's over in a blink of an eye. I open my eyes and wonder if I might have imagined the whole thing. But his face is abnormally flushed as he tugs on my hand and we step into the flames. I swear that he blushes and gives me a shy smile as he says a little breathlessly,

"The Lioness!"

Still dazed, I open my fist and let go of the powder. The figures of our friends blur as the flames blaze brighter and the Common Room disappears. The roar of the fire fills up my ears. The ground moves beneath me and the world spins away. I try to focus on the Potter's home but end up focusing on James instead. I hold on to him as once again everything unravels and whirls out of control, and James is the only thing that keeps me from falling.

Well, that is until we reach our destination, at which point I hear a familiar whooshing sound, and James and I both topple out of the fireplace. James' body cushions my fall, but his head smacks against the hardwood floor making us both wince.

"Are you okay?" I ask him as I sit up.

"Perhaps I will be if you kiss it?" he jokes.

"You're such a baby," I laugh and roll my eyes. He smirks and puts a hand on my hip as I lean toward him and then suddenly we freeze.

Both of our faces turn red as we realize that he did in fact just kiss me, when I have a boyfriend (who's risking his life to save someone we love) and he has a girlfriend (who might have been watching), and that right now I'm sitting on top of him, straddling him in a very suggestive manner.

James clears his throat.

"Right," I say, avoiding his eye. "I should probably get-_oof_!"

James' hand abruptly moves from my hip to my arse, pulling me flat against his chest. I squirm and attempt to get my hands free when a blue light streaks across the room, blinding me. I stop moving, holding my breath, and allowing for James to aim his wand over my shoulder at what I'm guessing must be a Death Eater behind me.

"_Stupefy_!"

There's no answering curse but James is still tense beneath me. Without distracting him I finally get one of my hands free and start blindly feeling around for my wand.

"Did you get him?" I whisper, probably groping James inappropriately as I struggle to get my other hand free to check the other side.

"Yea, I stunned him. But don't feel slighted just yet. I'm sure there's plenty more waiting to meet us."

"Oh, goody," I deadpan.

James chuckles and slaps my arse. That was totally unnecessary.

"Scoot, Evans," he orders as I scramble off of him. "Oh, and you'll probably be needing this back," he adds, handing me my wand with a grin.

He pulls his own wand from his back pocket. Cheeky little bastard, he had his wand on him the whole time. He only took mine so he could cop a feel. Why I ought to –

Suddenly, James shoves me up against a wall and I immediately forget how to breathe and what exactly I'm supposed to be doing. A flash of orange light illuminates the doorway that I had been about to step through. There's an explosion of plaster on the opposite side of the room, as a crater forms in the wall. That was meant for one of us. Probably me. They're trying to kill us, remember? Pull yourself together, Lily! I reach around James to throw up a shield as a second Death Eater rushes into the room, firing lethal curses in all directions.

I wait until the volley of curses stop and then let my shield down just long enough for James to get him with a full body binder. The cloaked figure goes as rigid as a board and then falls to the ground. I let out the breath I'd been holding and James releases me. He leans back against the wall beside me and pokes his head out into the hallway to check for more intruders.

"I think the coast is clear, but keep your wand out."

I follow him into the hallway and immediately wish I hadn't. It's quiet, too quiet. The sound of my breathing and our steady footsteps are comforting, though silence should be what we're aiming at. It feels almost as if we've entered the mausoleum already because there's such a strong sense of emptiness about the house. And it's shockingly cold. It had been an unusually warm day for April and even though the sun's probably going down by now, I know that it couldn't possibly have gotten this cold. I shiver and resist the urge to wrap my arms around myself.

"You can feel it too?" James whispers and his voice tears through the thick silence that has descended on the Potter's home. I give him a quizzical glance. "The wards, you can feel that they're down..."

"Is that why-"

James presses a finger to his lips and stops beside me. He cocks his head to the side as if he heard something. I strain my ears but can't hear anything except for my beating heart. We stand like that for a full minute before James touches my elbow and finally breathes,

"Get behind me."

He reaches into his robe and silently pulls out the invisibility cloak. We've reached the end of the hallway. Through the archway I can see the wide, spacious foyer opening before us with its elegantly winding staircase at the center. There are no lights and as I suspected the sun has already gone down. We have to get through the foyer before we can access any of the doors so James throws the invisibility cloak over both of us and then cautiously we step out into the open.

Barely breathing, James and I tiptoe through the foyer. The shadows themselves seem to be moving with us. I feel the hair on the back of my neck prickle because I have the distinct impression that we're being watched. I'm about to point this out to James, when a red light flares above us. The room is illuminated in the red glare of the stunner and my worst fears are confirmed. No less than three cloaked figures are strategically spread out on the staircase with their wands aimed below.

The stunner almost hits its mark and prompts James to yell, "Run!"

James races forward but I can't keep up with him. He swerves to avoid a curse and the cloak slips off of me.

Suddenly, I'm exposed and all wands are trained on me. I stop running so that I can shield myself from the barrage of curses coming down on my head. My shield flickers and I realize that there's no way James or I will make it out of the foyer now. I'm going to have to fight back so that they'll focus on me instead of James and he can get away. I take a deep breath and wait for the shield to fade.

"_REDUCTO_!"

The spell comes from the left of me and blasts through the banister. One of the Death Eaters falls to the side and another scrambles to avoid it.

"_STUPEFY!" _James shouts again, pulling the invisibility cloak off of himself to get a better aim. "What don't you understand about "Run!"?" he asks me.

"Sorry, I don't do running – _REDUCTO_!"

A piece of the railing breaks off and narrowly avoids knocking out the third Death Eater. Instead we hear the sound of shattering glass as it hits a portrait on the wall instead. James flinches.

"Shit, my mum and Auntie Hope love that painting," he swears, paling.

"_PETRIFICUS TOTALUS_! We're going to die and you're worried about – _EXPELLIARUMS_ – whether your mum and Hope's going to be mad – _STUPEFY_ – about some stupid painting?"

"_REDUCTO_! Well, yea. _STUPEFY_! Have you ever seen them get mad! _REDUCTO_! They're going to murder us when they find out! PROTEGO MAXIMA!"

I turn to him in the light of the shield as we pause to catch our breath.

"That's it," James decides. "They just made us wreck that painting. Now, it's really important that we murder these death eating bastards," he quips.

A laugh escapes me before I can stop myself. James cracks a grin even as the shield flickers. Seeing that grin and feeling myself mirror it on my own face, I realize something. It doesn't matter where we are or what kind of situation we've gotten ourselves into, as long as I'm with James, nothing else seems to matter anymore.

When the shield blinks and vanishes, James and I are back in the thick of it, fighting against two obviously skilled wizards who we just can't seem to nail. I think that I've managed to injure the second one when James cries out beside me. He's been disarmed but his eyes are locked on the doorway that we just came out of.

The two Death Eaters that provided such a warm welcome when we flooed in are now very much conscious and back to finish off the job. I scramble to put up a shield just as James spots his wand, in the hand of one of the Death Eaters coming toward us.

Summoning it would require me putting down the shield and leaving both of us unprotected from the onslaught of three, possibly four Death Eaters. And I can't do that. I reinforce the shield, struggling to think of a way to keep us both protected while I try to get James's wand back.

"Lily, look out!"

James grabs me so fast that I lose my balance and my concentration. The shield disappears as I look up to see a Death Eater literally flying toward us. I shriek but James has already pulled me out of the way and the Death Eater lands with a sickening crack at our feet. It doesn't move and I tear my eyes away from the immobile cloaked figure to the staircase above. One of the Death Eaters is leaning over the banister leering at me in a way that's all too familiar.

"Wilkes," I hiss, uneasily glancing back down at the unmoving lump on the floor in front of me. I point my wand at Wilkes but James knocks me out of the way as a nasty looking green light, narrowly misses us.

The two Death Eaters in the doorway are still firing on us as well as Wilkes and another injured one on the staircase above. I have to deflect the spells while James ducks and dives beside me. Someone shouts above us, drawing my attention to the banister again. Wilkes is clutching his arm, attempting to fire at someone else behind him. The injured Death Eater suddenly slumps over the banister and I see a flash of curly blonde hair.

"_SECTUMPSTRA_!" a familiar voice shouts. Wilkes howls and disappears with a pop as Sirius Black rushes in moments too late to stop him. I can see now that Tiffany and Remus are with him too, chasing a Death Eater that wasn't as immobilized as we had hoped.

"Watch out!" Sirius yells down to us.

I turn just in time to watch James duck out of the way of what could only be another unforgivable curse. I raise my wand but it soars out of my hand, clattering to the floor. A blast of air catches me, thrusting me backwards. I land several feet away, groaning.

"Get up, Lily!" James shouts, but he's stunned before he can reach me.

I struggle to sit up, facing the two Death Eaters slowly advancing on me. One of them laughs and I recognize the eyes. They're the eyes of the same Death Eater that strangled me many months ago in my mother's parlor. And now he's going to kill me.

"_STUPEFY_!"

My would-be murderer falls at the same moment that his partner does. Someone tosses me my wand and I look up to see Alice, Frank, and Eddie Bones standing in the doorway with their wands out and trained on the two Death Eaters they just stunned.

Alice helps me up while Frank and Eddie go over to revive James and give him back his wand. Sirius slides down the banister and gracefully lands with both feet on the ground in front of us.

"Are you alright?"

I nod.

"James?"

"I'm fine." He brushes himself off and turns to Sirius. "Nice of you to finally show up, Padfoot. I take it that was your idea to floo into another fireplace?"

"Actually it was Hope's. As soon as she realized that you two idiots had already left, she told us to split up. You're lucky we got here when we did. Next time you decide to go take on a bunch of Death Eaters solo, I expect you to consult me first," he says sulkily, poking James.

James rolls his eyes.

"How many were there?" Alice asks with wide eyes.

"I think there were five in all. Two met us when we flooed in," James recalls nodding at the pair on the floor. "We stunned them, but obviously it wore off. And I think that there were three on the staircase." He squints up into the dark staircase above us.

"Well, there's at least one up there that's been beaten up and knocked out," Sirius says, holding up five fingers and then ticking off three. "One disapparated."

"Wilkes," I growl as Sirius puts down another finger.

"Yea, and then there was another one that Tiffany and Remus went after..." Sirius closes his hand into a fist.

"That's five," Eddie agrees, "But then what's that over there? A sixth one?"

He points into the growing shadows at another black lump of cloaked limbs, apart from the other pair. Suddenly, I recall the Death Eater that had come flying at us and the look on Wilkes face as he leered down at me from above. I shudder, also recalling how the body had hit the floor with a sickening crack. I'm no healing expert but I'm guessing that the Death Eater's neck broke upon impact and that he's either paralyzed or dead.

"Oh, Wilkes threw that one over. Tried to hit us with him, actually," James remembers. "Must have gotten injured and been in the way," he surmises with a shrug. "Guess there were six then."

"Where did Tiffany and Remus get off to anyway?" Alice asks.

"Don't know. Maybe they went off for a snog."

"_Sirius_!" Alice gasps and I smack him. Frank and Eddie snicker but James deliberately acts as if he didn't catch that comment.

"_Ow_! I'm only kidding! I'm just saying, we would have heard something by now – wouldn't we?" Sirius hesitates and we all look up the staircase anxiously.

"Hope and Ophelia should have been here by now too," Frank says quietly.

"And Mary?"

"She decided that it would be wise to stay at Hogwarts." Eddie avoids my eyes causing me to believe that they probably forced her to stay behind. "I thought we had persuaded Tiffany to remain with her but seeing as she's here, that's probably not the case." Alice catches my eye and I can't help but grin. Tiffany can be stubborn when she wants to be.

"Hope was going to try and track Grace's location," Sirius explains to James and I.

"And Tiffany probably got tired of running or broke a nail or some- OW!" Alice hits Eddie upside the head before he can finish that thought and he glares at her. It suddenly occurs to me that Eddie might have once gone out with Tiffany. I don't think it lasted very long and I think it was Tiffany who broke it off.

"Alright, fine," he huffs. "Frank and I will go look for Ms. Crowley and Remus. Alice, I said _Frank_ and I."

Alice has already lit her wand and is climbing up the stairs. Frank naturally goes with her and after a moment of grumbling Eddie runs to catch up with them too. I'm left with James, Sirius, and a bunch of unconscious and injured Death Eaters.

"Do you think we should check the rest of the house or go straight for the mausoleum?" I ask, lighting my wand. Sirius and James do the same.

"They'll be in the house," Sirius says. "They didn't tell me which fireplace they were going to use."

"How many fireplaces do you have, James?"

"We only have one for guests, but now that the wards are down, any of the five could be fair game."

"Five?" I moan. "So, they could be virtually anywhere in the house?" Did I mention that James's house is practically a mansion? It could take us hours to search the whole damn place. By that time the stunners and body binds and whatever else we threw at these Death Eaters will have worn off and they'll be hunting us again. I suppress a shiver. I never did like the game of Hide and Seek.

"I think I should stay here and keep an eye on things," I suggest.

"I'm not leaving you." James grabs my hand.

I sigh and cast a spell on the stunned pair of Death Eaters, using a long-lasting sticking charm that Flitwick recently taught me to bind their limbs together. The last one I leave alone, knowing it won't be necessary. I suspect he might be dead.

"Come on, Lily," Sirius says, impatiently. "I want to find Gracie."

And I want us all to make it out of here alive. We won't be of any use in rescuing Gracie if these Death Eaters wake up and kill us. But I decide not to point the obvious out to Sirius. Instead I hold onto James's hand and hurry up the stairs after them in silence.

When we reach the second floor Sirius stops and turns to James. Something passes between them and James nods. He lets go of my hand and takes the lead, guiding us down the left hallway. We walk by James's parent's bedroom, a bathroom and two closets. James opens the doors and I breathe a sigh of relief each time the room or closet's revealed to be lacking Death Eaters. I turn around to go back down the other hallway and walk right into someone.

"Hope!"

Hope shushes me but wraps an arm around my shoulders.

"Where's the others?" she whispers, leaning on me.

"Tiffany and Remus went after a Death Eater. Frank, Alice and Eddie went looking for them," James answers in a hushed voice.

"And we came looking for you and Ophelia," I add.

"Ophelia's not with you?" Hope sounds worried.

"No, we thought she was with you." I frown.

Hope shakes her head slowly. "When we flooed in on the Third Floor there was a Death Eater. Ophelia went after it, but she didn't come back. I don't know where she went-" she stops suddenly and cocks her head in the same way James did earlier.

She motions toward the third floor. The floorboards creak above us. Clearly someone's up there and it's probably not Alice, Frank, Eddie, Tiffany or Remus because I'm pretty sure they all went down the long dark corridor stretching before us.

Sirius noiselessly dashes up the stairs with James and I close on his heels. Hope is having trouble breathing and lags behind. The light of our wands cast our long shadows on the wall, so that I nearly mistake the figure at the top of the stairs for one of them. Until it raises its slender white hand and another blast of air hits me, throwing Sirius, James and I into the air. A cry escapes me as I fall back against the railing, hitting my shoulder. James slams into me, holding his face and swearing and Sirius somersaults down a few steps before he stops groaning on the landing. By some miracle Hope is untouched and it's her shield that envelopes us and brightens the staircase.

The figure at the top of the stairs staggers backwards, dropping her wand and throwing up her hands to cover her face. But we immediately recognize her long blonde hair.

"Ophelia it's just us you crazy woman!" Sirius explodes as he struggles to pick himself back up. James is still clutching the side of his face and when he pulls his hand away there's blood.

Hope lowers her shield and Ophelia takes her hands away from her face for a moment. Before the light goes out I catch a brief glimpse of a glazed expression on her face and her eyes. They've rolled into the back of her head. Oh, shit! My entire body freezes over as I realize that Ophelia is under the Imperius curse.

"Ophelia, are you alright?" Hope asks, handing her back the wand she dropped.

"HOPE, STOP SHE'S POSS-"

I can't reach my wand fast enough.

Ophelia makes a slashing motion with her hand and unleashes a ball of green flames into Hope's chest. Hope stands there for a moment, letting the flames engulf her and then she bends at the knee and collapses to the ground. James yells and lunges at Ophelia. Sirius is there too. There's a Death Eater. Someone's trying to stop James from killing Ophelia. There's more voices and the clatter of footsteps as Eddie, Frank and Remus come up the steps behind me and join the fray. Someone's screaming, it sounds like Tiffany. Something's hit Eddie. He's fallen down the steps.

Hope's eyes are closed and she's not moving. There's a wound in her chest and blood blossoms across her blouse. I think that she's dead until suddenly I hear a ragged, wheezing breath in my ear.

"Lily Evans."

Her eyes snap open and meet mine. Her gaze is unfocused but each word is pronounced with emphasis and perfect clarity.

"Your time has come. Finish it."

And then the light in her blazing brown eyes dies. Beneath my bloodied hands her heart has stopped beating.

Hope Moon Adams is dead.

**A/N: Sorry this took a little bit longer than I expected to finish. I went to the beach every day I got off from work. I love summer! Thank you so much for reviewing! Especially ImRandom, holly, DarkWiccanPrincess, tinkerbell25285, HollyWestbrook, PatronusCharmBabe, CC Chels, Jessiquie, NEVERMORE DARKNESS, Renesmee-worththefight, Sarahrules336, gitgit, MrsHellman, JustCallMeDollface, desirable69, harrypotter713, DancingCavalier, EvilFaerie17, princessita, TheFifthCharmedOne, , callmeGreen-Eyes, HarryPotterResidentEvilJnLfan, Jaliy, madutopia, ElCullen and Rob-girl! **


	40. The Wielder

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the wonderful world of Harry Potter. **

**Summary of the last chapter: Hope explains that her family's always been in possession of the weapon because they are descendents of Godric Gryffindor and that's how she discovered that she was a wielder, right before her brother Harry died to protect the secret. The Dark Lord is rumored to be another wielder and he came after Harry, and then Hope later when she and her husband tried to unearth the weapon last summer but were betrayed by someone they were working with. A plan was formulated in case something happened and Ophelia, Auror Kenny's daughter, was entrusted to hold onto Hope's memories. While everyone's fighting over who should stay behind Lily and James share a kiss and floo to James's house. They're attacked by Death Eaters and fight them off. Sirius, Tiffany, Remus, Alice, Frank and Eddie all arrive in the nick of time to help. Tiffany and Remus go after a Death Eater and Alice, Frank and Eddie go looking for them. Lily, James and Sirius search for Hope and Ophelia and run into both of them. Ophelia is under the Imperius Curse and kills Hope but not before Hope leaves Lily with some cryptic last words.**

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 36: Do You Remember?**_**.**

**A/N: Sorry guys I've been super busy working and looking for a new job! And I'm sick so I apologize for the multiple errors that I probably missed after many attempts at editing. Warning this chapter does get a bit gory. **

**Chapter 39: The Wielder**

"_Your time has come. Finish it."_

I'm not sure how long I knelt there with Hope's blood on my hands and her last words ringing in my ears. Time expands and contracts in mysterious ways during moments like this one. I think I tried to wake her up. I must have called her name. I probably used a few spells. I shook her as hard as I could and waited for the fire to reignite in her now dull brown eyes. No matter what I did I couldn't revive her. I knew she was dead. I had been there to witness the moment when the spark of life was extinguished. But there was a part of me that still hoped that if she had come back from the "dead" once before than she could do it again.

A hand touches my shoulder and I jump. It's only Alice. She crouches down beside me and with shaking fingers checks Hope's throat and wrist for a pulse. It seems like forever before she's able to turn her head and look me in the eye. Her eyes are wet and her bottom lip trembles. I feel the flicker of hope within me die a painful death even before the words are out of her mouth.

"I can't find a pulse. She's d-dead."

Instead of bursting into tears like Alice does, I feel myself going numb. A chill seeps into my bones and my veins turn to ice. Auto pilot switches on and I force myself to go through the motions. I clean the blood off of Hope and then close her eyes for the last time. My hand lingers on her cheek and her last words resound in my mind again.

"_Finish it_."

"I will," I promise but my voice quivers and my hands twitch in my lap. I know that I have to get up but I feel as if I have a huge weight on my shoulders, keeping me on my knees and bowed over Hope's silent form.

"Lily, I'm so sorry," Alice whispers, tearfully. Frank takes in the sight of Hope's corpse and then wordlessly drops down beside Alice and gathers her in his arms. She hesitates, stretching out a consoling hand to me but I pull myself to my feet. I take a few unsteady steps forward. I hear Alice's half muffled sob and my knees threaten to give out.

Someone catches me by the elbow and steadies me. My eyes lift hopefully but it's not James. Remus takes one look at my face and let's go in alarm. His gaze shifts to where Alice and Frank are huddled next to Hope's body.

"She's not – is she?" he stammers.

"Yes, she is," I croak.

"Oh, Merlin!" He staggers into me and we lean back against the wall. I squeeze my eyes shut, taking the opportunity to try and put myself back together temporarily for the sake of what has to be done. I can't afford to be weak right now.

"Lily, I had no idea. Was that why James attacked Ophelia? Did Ophelia -"

"Yes."

"Why?" Remus blurts out, struggling to process all this.

"Imperius."

Remus passes a hand over his face, looking more exhausted than I've ever seen him before. I follow his gaze down the steps to where Tiffany sits against the wall with her legs outstretched at an odd angle. She's eyeing the figure lying on the landing beside her with concern. I recognize that the body belongs to Eddie and I can't ignore the fact that it's as motionless as Hope's lifeless corpse.

"A Death Eater threw a bureau at her. Her left leg's broken, shattered probably," Remus updates me. "That's why it took us so long to get back here."

"Is Eddie -?" I swallow, unable to muster the courage to finish the sentence.

"No. At least we don't think so…" He hesitates. Tiffany looks up at him and he seems to relax a bit. "I have no idea what Ophelia or that Death Eater got him with but he's unconscious and Tiffany's in a lot of pain." His gaze moves to mine and I know what he's going to suggest.

"Of course. They have to go to the infirmary as soon as possible and Hope –" I choke on the word and the room blurs. I can't break down now. I have to finish this before Grace meets the same fate as her mother. But what if she already has? What if she and Rohan are already – ? And where in Merlin's name is James?

"I'll take care of it, Lily," Remus says gently breaking into my thoughts. I feel his hand on my arm. He squeezes my shoulder, reassuringly and then motions to Alice and Frank. I watch them as Frank helps Alice to her feet and then I turn back to look at Remus, gazing at the crippled girl guarding Eddie.

"What are you still doing here?" Remus asks me, tearing his eyes away from Tiffany. He raises his eyebrows and there's even a hint of amusement at the corners of his mouth. "I've got it under control, Lily. But Gracie, Rohan, and two of my best mates are missing and I was under the mistaken impression that you intended to track those two idiots down and give them hell for running off like that."

I'm so grateful that he understands that I could've hugged him. So, I do. I throw my arms around him right there in the middle of the staircase.

"Stay safe," I tell him. To my surprise, Remus hugs me back and whispers in my ear, "For Merlin's sake, Lily, will you please finally tell him how you really feel about him?"

"Who? Sirius?" I quip.

Remus rolls his eyes, turns me around, and pushes me up the stairs. I've just regained my footing when Alice smacks into me so hard that I nearly lose it again. She has pulled me into a suffocating hug.

"You're going after them alone aren't you?" She doesn't wait for me to answer, before adding, "Maybe I should come with you." But I know she won't. Remus needs Frank to help him with Tiffany and Eddie and Alice can't leave Frank. I wouldn't have left James. He had no problem leaving me though, I think bitterly as I hold onto Alice.

"No, Alice. Remus needs you and Frank to take care of Tiffany and Eddie and Hope's…" I can't say it. I don't want to face it just yet.

Alice can hear the words I don't say and pulls me even closer.

"You'll bring back Gracie, won't you? And Rohan?" she pleads with me softly.

"'Course I will," I say with bravado that I don't feel. I wonder if she means bring back their bodies and I swallow down the hard lump that forms in my throat. Sniffling, Alice reluctantly releases me and lets me pass by her up the stairs.

I pause when I come to Hope's corpse. Frank is kneeling beside the body and in one surprisingly graceful movement he scoops her up into his arms and gets to his feet. A strange look passes over his face and I rush to his side, asking if he needs help carrying her. But Frank shakes his head.

"She's so light," he whispers. In death, Hope seems smaller, older, thinner and almost shrunken. The last of the enchantments on her appearance are gone, revealing the middle aged woman that went through hell too many times in the past year and finally escaped it for good.

_Finish it_.

But Hope couldn't be at peace just yet. She'd left me with a task, and though I'm exhausted and all I want to do is find James, Grace, Sirius and Rohan and go back to the castle, I know that there's one more thing I will have to do after that. Perhaps Remus, Alice, and even Frank sensed it too, because he calls after me,

"Be careful, Lily."

I take one last look over my shoulder at my friends gathered on the steps and wonder if this is the last time I'll ever see them. And then I turn my back on them and go in search of James.

I climb up to the third floor and stop to take in my surroundings. A green glow emanates from an open doorway at the end of the left hallway and I move toward it. As I approach the room, I realize that it's the same guestroom that James dragged me off to after Hope's first funeral. He'd almost succeeded in kissing me that rainy September night but I came to my senses and instead we made a bet that if he became Head Boy I'd be forced to go on a date with him. Now, I force myself to push the memories aside as I enter the deserted guest room.

Or at least I thought it was empty. Someone grabs me by the back of my robes, dragging me into the room. Before I can scream a hand clamps down over my mouth. I struggle against my attacker and panicked sparks erupt from the tip of my wand.

"You light my precious locks on fire like you did Zabini's, Evans, and I'll throw you into that fireplace and send you right back to Hogwarts," a familiar voice hisses in my ear.

I roll my eyes and almost laugh at the relief I feel at the sound of that voice. But because he gave me such a scare I bite down on his hand. With a muffled curse he lets go.

"I don't recall cannibalism being an effect of the Imperio Curse," James mutters, sucking on his bleeding finger.

"I'm not a cannibalist and I'm certainly not under the Imperius."

"Ophelia was." His voice catches.

I stare at James in the glow of the fire and see something that frightens me in his face. I don't think that he's under the Imperius but there's a raw almost dangerous anger underlying his features. The green flames reflect in his hazel eyes reminding me of the flames that enveloped Hope and killed her, leaving an empty shell behind. James is hollow, a shell of himself, except for the fire in his eyes. His uncle and cousin were murdered months ago, his mother was attacked this morning, his cousin was hit with a life threatening curse and kidnapped, and he just witnessed his aunt's murder. There's only so much horror and tragedy that we can take. Eventually he had to reach a breaking point. Only James doesn't break. He fights.

"You could be possessed too," he says. A spasm of panic goes through me as he raises his wand and trains it on me. Suddenly, I remember somewhere in the blurred moments after Ophelia attacked Hope, that someone had had to stop James from killing Ophelia before she escaped.

"I'm not," I insist, but my voice quivers and raises James's suspicions.

"Prove it," he challenges me as his eyes blaze with that dangerous intensity. I briefly entertain the idea that James might be under the Imperio too. But there's too much emotion in those hazel eyes and his wand is trembling. He's fighting so hard but he's breaking. Watching him is almost too much for me. I want to reach out and take him in my arms and never let go. But when I step forward James takes a step back and threatens to stun me if I come any nearer. I freeze and feel a pain in my chest, right where my heart is.

"James," I whisper. "It's just me, Lily."

"How do I know that?"

"You don't." I pause, choosing my words carefully. "But you have to trust me."

"Why?" he demands.

"Because I love you!" I blurt out and then clap my hand over my mouth. But it's too late the words are already out there in the open, hovering in the space between us.

James was right. I don't love Rohan. I never have and never will because someone else had captured my heart months ago. Only I didn't realize how strong my feelings were for James until right now.

James's eyes widen and the angry lines in his face begin to soften into surprise and something else. Slowly, he lowers his wand. Agonizing seconds tick by as the two of us gaze into each other's eyes. As the silence stretches out my heart begins to beat faster. The pain in my chest increases and I realize that this might just be my heart breaking. Why isn't he saying anything? Finally, when I don't think that I can take it any more James opens his mouth and swears.

"Damn it! Lily HIDE!" He looks frantically around the room and then grabs my arm. He pulls me behind the sofa and throws me down onto the ground.

"Stay there!" he hisses just as the door is blasted off of its hinges.

I scream as the door splinters and the sharp wooden pieces slash at the arms that James and I throw up to protect our heads. When a blank faced Ophelia comes in with what's left of the door, I know that she's still possessed and that she's come to kill us too. We don't stand a chance against this brilliant witch, not to mention whoever is powerful enough to control her. Our only hope is to distract her and so I twist around and use the sofa as my shield.

"_Oppugno_!" I yell. The wooden shards rise up and hone in on Ophelia like bullets. She's forced to throw up a shield to deflect them. Next I point my wand at the glowing fireplace.

"_Conflagrio_!"

But Ophelia redirects the flames to the open doorway and I hear a yelp of surprise. For a split second I see Sirius Black's shocked face as he crumples and then the room is plunged into shadows.

"NO!" James's cry chills me. He thinks Sirius is dead. I reach out for him but he's too fast.

"James!"

James ignores me and leaps over the couch. Ophelia's spell goes awry as James jumps and launches himself at her. I hear the sound of shattering glass as both of them go through the window.

"JAMES!"

I get to my feet and run to the broken window. I peer down into the shadows but with the moon buried behind clouds I can't see a bloody thing. My head spins. We're three floors up there's no way they could have survived that fall. All of a sudden I think of last September when I stayed with the Potters and I met Hope. After she jumped out the bedroom window…

"Wait."

Glass breaks and I turn to find Sirius Black kicking the rest of the glass shards out with his shoe. He's alive and unharmed except for a nasty looking burn on his left arm from the flames which were partly my fault, though James hadn't seen me do it and obviously thought that the green flames were Ophelia's deadly curse. I watch as Sirius gets up onto the window sill and punches out the last shining piece with his fist. Clearing the glass off the sill with his feet, he gazes into the distance where we both know the graveyard and the Moon mausoleum are located. I shudder at the thought of reentering that horrid underground death trap but it's our only hope.

"Come on," he says and crouches down on the sill to help me up.

I clamber up onto the windowsill beside him. A blast of cool air hits me as I stand and I sway. Sirius grabs my hand and I cling to it. I hate that I can't see what's below me. I hate that I did not see James or Ophelia get back up. And I hate that the hand that I'm holding onto doesn't belong to the one person who could have reassured me that everything would be alright: James.

"Are you sure that this is the fastest way down?" I ask, biting my lip.

"Just close your eyes, okay?" Sirius sighs. I nod. "On three?"

"One."

"Two."

I close my eyes and think of James.

"Three."

And then we jump.

For one almost exhilarating moment we're airborne and I think that maybe this isn't so bad. Then gravity kicks in and Sirius's hand slides out of mine. A split second later I hit the ground so hard that my eyes snap open and every bone in my body seems to crack. Or at least that's what it felt like. But when I do finally lift myself groaning up off the ground, all my bones seem to be still connected and in one piece.

Sirius on the other hand isn't so lucky. He gets half stuck in the magical mutated thorn bush from Mrs. Potter's "gardening" phase that James tried to get me to climb into when we had to sneak back into his house that night after the rest of Grace's family was murdered. The situation might've been comical under other circumstances but tonight there's no room for laughter. I point my wand at the ferocious looking plant but Sirius grimaces and shakes his head.

"Trust me this thing hates magic. You'll only make things worse."

I pocket my wand and move forward to help him but he waves me away with the arm that isn't snagged by razor sharp thorns.

"Go on, I'll get myself out and catch you up."

"I can't just leave you here," I protest, flinching at the sight of the pain in his face as the thorns sink into the arm that I accidentally burned not even ten minutes ago.

"Lily, you have to catch up with them! They're headed for the mausoleum and Grace's in there. I can feel it!"

Sirius sounds so sure of himself that I find myself half believing it too. But James and Ophelia are nowhere in sight and I haven't the foggiest idea as to where the Death Eaters might have taken Gracie and Rohan. Even if Sirius is right, there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to catch them up. But I'm making a lousy attempt anyway because just as Sirius can sense that Grace is in the mausoleum I know that some distance away Ophelia is leading James towards that marble building full of James and Grace's dead ancestors and the weapon.

The weapon! Of course! It's in the mausoleum. Ophelia and the Death Eaters have gone to the mausoleum to unleash the weapon!

A shiver of anticipation runs through me that has nothing to do with the fact that I may or may not be gaining on James and Ophelia. I feel a pull deep within me, tugging me toward something ahead at a breakneck pace that frightens and excites me at the same time. Before I'm even aware of what's happening I'm running faster than I ever thought I could, barely breathing and hardly caring. The only thing that matters is that I get to the mausoleum. Instead of taking the path, I veer into the woods. Ignoring a distant cry from Sirius, I keep going, racing through the trees and depending upon a natural instinct that I can't explain to lead me. Somehow I know where I'm going even though I deliberately neglected the path. It's like I'm hearing someone calling my name just up ahead, but it's not my name and it's not really a person that's calling for me. Whatever or whoever it is, draws me toward them as if I'm on the end of a rope or a fishing line being reeled in at lightening speed.

I almost forget all about James and Ophelia and Sirius and Rohan and Gracie and Hope. The only thing that matters is getting inside that mausoleum. Then I'll break through the wards on the doors and open that passageway where the solemn knight with the ruby encrusted sword awaits me.

I'm so close that my skin tingles as I burst out of the woods and into the middle of a cemetery. I barely register the fact that James and Ophelia are on the path a hundred yards away or that I've done the impossible and nearly overtaken them. I think I would've ignored them entirely if it hadn't been for the Death Eater that I practically ran into. He was aiming a curse at James and probably would have gotten him, but I stumbled into his path at just the right moment. Instead of incinerating James, the Death Eater's curse catches only the back of James's cloak. I watch as James easily slips out of it, throwing the burning remains onto one of the headstones before chasing after Ophelia's retreating form once more.

Something in me snaps and suddenly it's as if the spell has been lifted slightly. Because now instead of caring about the mausoleum and what's lying deep within, I'm terrified for James and his unprotected back. I knock the Death Eater off his feet, knowing it's only a temporary fix and run after James, hoping to keep myself between the Death Eater and him. I want to tell him to turn around because a part of me is now once again frightened of what's waiting for us in the end. But now my miraculous borrowed strength seems to be waning and I know I can't afford to waste anymore on yelling something he won't hear.

I'm running for my life and feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. There's someone pursuing me, crashing along the path behind me. Deadly looking curses blow past me, stirring my hair, but narrowly missing me by the breadth of an inch each time. I can't stop to defend myself though. If I do I might lose sight of James's figure in front of me that's shrinking as I grow wearier. I won't let that happen. I run faster, weaving in and out of the jagged tombstones, praying that I'll get there before the close and that I can lose the Death Eater on our tail.

I catch sight of the massive white, pillared mausoleum, with flaring torches and then I plunge into the darkness.

I keep moving, stumbling through the shadows, focusing on the bouncing light before me. My footsteps echo eerily, nearly drowning out the sound of my pounding heart. I can feel the cold and the darkness closing in around me, threatening to suffocate me but I can't stop. I won't stop. Not until I reach him.

We descend into the darkness, stumbling down damp staircases, blasting through doorways. I'm barely keeping up with him. I can feel the lack of oxygen getting to me. My lungs scream for air, threatening to burst as my limbs grow heavy and sluggish. Fortunately the object of my chase slows up ahead, pointing his wand this way, revealing a room full of doors that is all too familiar.

Fear grips my chest as I realize that I already know what James will do and what will happen after that. I try to cry out for him, but James is too intent on figuring out which door Ophelia disappeared through. He lifts his hand and presses it against the nearest door. It opens, unleashing a horrible bone chilling moan.

"JAMES!" I scream, running for him.

"Lily?" He whips around, seeing me for the first time, but it's too late.

The doors slam shut around us and a cloud of darkness engulfs him before I can reach him…

I stumble in the pitch blackness, groping for a wall. Instead my hand goes through something cold and not quite solid. I gasp at the shock and hurriedly change direction, trying to avoid the unpleasantly cold air that's solidifying into a frosty mist around me.

"LILY!"

"James!" I call back to him. I squint through the thickening fog, but I can't spot James anywhere.

"Stay with me!"

"I'm right here, James!" I reassure him. His voice seems to be coming from the left which forces me to step right into the middle of the mysterious mist. It's as if I've just plunged into the ocean in the middle of January. I shiver and wrap my arms around myself. I keep moving forward toward the muffled sound of James's voice. It becomes increasingly difficult since I have the sensation that I'm underwater and I'm freezing cold. I stop to listen for his voice again.

But this time it isn't James I hear.

It's Gracie.

Her cry is worse than the bone chilling moan. It cuts me like a knife because I know that I've only heard it once before. When she was hit by Wilke's fatal curse and her inner organs were boiling. I stand there rooted to the floor, flinching as I hear it over and over again and powerless to alleviate her pain. My whole body starts to shake and it has nothing to do with the numbing cold.

"Gracie," I whimper, feeling tears sting at my eyes.

Then I hear something else. It's another familiar voice whispering in my ear.

"_She'll never survive, Lily_."

"No, you're wrong!" I wildly protest to the mist. "I'm going to find her!"

"_Get yourself out, Lily. You can't do anything for Grace_," I hear Rohan's voice echoing in my head again.

The sound of his voice makes me flashback to earlier when I led Rohan into a suicide mission that he never had a chance of escaping. In my mind I see him giving me that rueful smile. He'd promised to take care of Gracie. Even after we both realized that I didn't love him and that Grace was probably a lost cause, he still promised to do it. Ophelia had said that he would have done it for anyone, but here lost in the fog and the echoing cries of Grace and Rohan, I know that it's my fault. The guilt weighs down upon me and squeezes painfully in my chest. I probably would have collapsed under the pressure and let the mist engulf me like I watched the darkness swallow James. I most likely would have been reduced to a sobbing, helpless mess, powerlessly listening to the screams of my best friend and the voice of a friend that I sent to his death. But I then I hear James's distant voice.

"Lily, fight for me!"

"James?" I whisper, wiping at my streaming eyes. I search for him in the fog but I can't see anything. The mist has taken on a green tint and I'm reminded of the flames that I threw at Sirius. Poor Sirius who I left stuck in a thorn bush probably without a wand. The flames grow and I see the deadly curse striking Hope and slowly sucking the life out of her. My hands are stained with her blood and even though I struggle to staunch the flow, her breathing becomes even more ragged and fainter in my ears. I can't stop her from dying, no matter how hard I try because it's already happened.

"I won't let you go!" James cries out somewhere in the fog.

"James!" I call out to him.

"_Finish it_."

Hope's words echo in my mind as the light dies in her eyes for the second time. Instead of dragging me further into the fog, I find my head clearing because I can hear James. He's sobbing and he's calling for me. And he's close, so close that all I have to do is get to my feet, shake away the sounds of Grace, Rohan and Hope and focus on that horrible heart wrenching sound that's more painful and more real than anything else.

"James, hold on," I tell him.

"I'm not letting you go!" he sobs.

"I'm coming, James! I'm coming!" I keep putting one foot in front of another. Fighting back shivers and trying to stop my teeth from chattering. The fog seems to be lifting with every step I take but it isn't until I literally trip over James's huddled form that I finally find him.

"Lily!" he yells.

"I'm right here," I tell him, kneeling beside him.

"Stay," he whispers, choking on a sob and blindly reaching out for me.

"I'm not going anywhere," I whisper, pulling his head to my chest. He wraps his arms around me but he's still trembling violently. He's muttering things under his breath that I have to lean closer to catch.

"Sirius."

"He's fine," I reassure him.

"Chris," he whispers the name of his deceased cousin, Gracie's little brother and I can't say anything. "Chris," he whispers again in a voice that triggers a whine of panic in me. "Chris, he's only twelve. He should've been with us. He should've been with me and Gracie." James still isn't in his right mind and looking around I realize that the mist is closing in on us once more.

"And Uncle Mark. And Auntie Hope. And Gracie. Gracie, she's too young! Should've got here sooner. I should've stopped Ophelia. I should've stopped them! I couldn't stop them. I couldn't – NO! Don't leave!"

Though it pains me, I extract myself from James's arms despite his pleas for me to stay and drag him to his feet. I step away from him, moving out of the warmth of his presence and back into the freezing mist. This time when I hear Gracie's cries I'm ready for them. Before the mist engulfs me entirely, I spot the door that James left open. James is squirming and fighting with something that I can't see. But I wrap both arms around his waist and push him with all my might toward the door.

"Close it," I order him. He twists in my arms but I hang on with every last ounce of my strength.

"Don't make me go any closer!" he cries out and the desperation in his voice is so powerful that I have to struggle to remember why I have to get him to close that door.

I feel the mist threatening to close in around us but I concentrate on James and the door.

"Close it," I repeat, even as my teeth begin to chatter again.

"No, Lily," James moans, shaking his head and trying to push me away from the door.

"James, CLOSE THE DOOR!" I scream, shivering as I start to go under. "Please," I add weakly, closing my eyes as my trembling grip on James slackens and the mist swirls around me. I feel my knees give way and the voices and screams coming back into my mind with a vengeance.

And then suddenly it's over.

"Lily?" James crouches down in front of me. The arm that he encircles around my waist is strong and reassuring. I lean into him, relishing the warmth of his body. If it wasn't for the fact that his eyes are haunted, blood shot and puffy I would've suspected that I had imagined the whole thing.

"I thought I'd lost you," he says, gently touching my face. His fingers start at my forehead and move slowly downward, tracing every inch of my profile until his hand cups my cheek. "Remember when you almost died on the train, it was like I was reliving that all over again. Except that I don't remember it hurting that much. I wanted to die, Lily."

"I know," I whisper, looping my arm around his neck and pulling him closer. I lean toward him so that our foreheads touch. He sighs and I feel the tension leaving his body as his breath warms my face. I close my eyes wishing that I could just stay here with him like this always.

The door to the right of us creaks open.

"Well, isn't this touching," an unfamiliar voice drawls. Wand light brightens the room and James and I have to hold up hands over our eyes as we get to our feet and struggle to adjust to the sudden brightness. Several cloaked figures stand before us. But I only recognize one of them.

James growls and I clamp my hand down on his arm before he can go after her. One of the cloaked figures has his arms around Ophelia, keeping her upright. She's limp as a ragdoll and as the wand light sweeps past her I see that her eyes are still completely white and unseeing.

"I see that I'm interrupting an intimate moment," the chilling voice continues. "But I must know who it was that managed to break through the Mists of Hell."

The Mists of Hell! I suck in a sharp breath. Of course I had come across it in my reading once. It was an ancient curse, dark magic that once triggered by an unsuspecting victim it would force the victim to relive it's worst memories over and over again until the victim was reduced to insanity and unable to escape its own private hell even after the mists finally vaporized. If James hadn't shut that door, I shudder to think of where we might have ended up. Probably in ward for the insane.

"I'm impressed. It had to have taken a great deal of strength and endurance to break out of that enchantment. Who are they?" the face in the shadows turns to the figure holding Ophelia.

"That's Heather and the Potter's boy," a voice I've heard before replies.

"And the girl?"

The figure whispers something in Ophelia's ear and she lifts her head, turning her blank face upon me.

"Lily Evans," she says.

"Evans?" I hear the question the chilling voice isn't asking, having heard it enough times from some of my more snobbish bigoted peers.

"I'm muggleborn," I inform him, drawing myself up to my full height.

"A mudblood!" One of the others sneers.

"Don't call her that!" James snaps and I tighten my hold on his arm. We're badly outnumbered and I don't like the sound of the shadowed face's voice at all. One wrong word and we'll both be killed.

As if to prove my point the Death Eater steps forward and points his wand at James, but the one with the shadowed face and the chilling voice of authority, raises an arm to stop him.

"Let me handle these two."

Now, I think, he's probably going to kill us.

"Kill you?" the chilling voice is accompanied by an equally frigid chuckle as I realize that I just spoke that last thought out loud. "No, you're more useful to me alive than dead which is why I want you to join me, Lord Voldemort."

Lord Voldemort? The master of all the Death Eaters and the brain power behind all of their operations? This is the man that's responsible for every death and every life shattered by those ruthless murders? And he expects me, a mudblood, and James who's practically lost his entire family to join his gang of killers? Is he crazy? Maybe that's why James and I didn't immediately refuse him but just stared at him dumbstruck. Or perhaps the reason why we were suddenly so reticent was because we were both thinking, shit we're dead once we refuse him. And not just dead, but really, really dead. We're talking torture and painful drawn out death, plus probably the entire anhiliation of our family and friends before our eyes.

The shadowed figure holds up a bony hand.

"Before you accept or refuse my proposal, I want you to consider it carefully. I don't know how the two of you did it, but somehow you managed to break through the Mists of Hell without any lasting damage. In addition to this I strongly suspect that the five men that I sent to house are not here because of the two of you. Am I wrong?"

James and I don't say anything. We'd had help of course, but before the others had arrived we had been doing alright considering how we were outnumbered. Also to admit that we'd had help would endanger the lives of the others. So we stay silent and take the praise that perhaps we don't fully deserve.

"Those wizards were well trained and skilled. No ordinary witch or wizard could have taken them on and came out completely unharmed. You two are truly gifted, which is why it would be a mistake for me to kill you and waste such skills when they could be put to such good use if used properly."

He was winding down. In a few moments James and I would be put on the spot and forced to refuse his offer. And then he would kill us, probably one at a time. James squeezed my hand as if thinking along the same lines.

"I understand that you don't agree with my views. But I can assure you both complete immunity, as well as the promise of protection for your family and friends if you join me." He pauses letting the temptation tease us. To think that we'd never have to worry about anyone we loved ruthlessly murdered, it was tempting. Because that's what we we're fighting for, isn't it? To prevent the loss of our loved ones?

I look at James and think of how wonderful it would be able to seize that moment back that Voldemort and the others had interrupted and to know that there was no threat and that we could stay like that always. James looks back at me, and I can see that the offer has tempted him as well. But looking at James, I remember what we just went through in the Mists of Hell and why we went through it. Voldemort was responsible for the deaths and pain in all of the voices and haunting memories that had visited us. Every single one of them. And now we were just going to turn our back on them in order to accept a proposal full of lies and reeking of dark magic? No, I couldn't do that. And neither can James. Because if we did join him, than all of those that died, Hope, her brother, her husband, her son Chris, Tiffany's father, Danny's sister, Rohan's grandfather, and perhaps even Rohan and Grace, they would have died in vain and we'd be besmirching their memories. I can't. Even if it might have meant that James would have been safe, I can't do it, no matter how much I care for him.

"If on the other hand you do not accept my offer-"

"We refuse your offer," James interrupts him loudly and I hold my head high proudly beside him.

"Both of you defy me?" Voldemort sounds surprised. After murdering James's family and kidnapping my closest friends, you'd think he would have seen this coming.

"Yes," I answer. "We will not join you."

"Ah, I see that though gifted, you are still very young and foolish." Though his face is still wreathed in shadows, I can hear the smile in his voice and it is a smile as cold and dark as his laugh. "Perhaps though if you tell me where the weapon is located, I will reconsider your refusal?"

My heart begins to pound. He doesn't know where the weapon is? Hadn't Hope said that the wielder was always able to find it when nearby? And was it not Voldemort who was the rumored second wielder of the weapon? The rival that had murdered Agrippa Potter, Harry Moon, and then finally Hope's family in his search for the elusive location? Surely if he had gotten himself down here he must be able to figure out which door it's behind. It's been months since I have been down here and the doors all look exactly the same, but even I'm able to sense that it's behind the fifth door. The one that's the furthest away from me. Damn it.

"Is there something that you'd like to share with me Ms. Evans?"

He steps away from the others and into the center of the room. He's tall and thin, perhaps even too thin. And he's so pale. But it's his face that reveals the fact that he's not quite human. His face strongly resembles that of a snake and the slits of his eyes are – I suppress a shudder. The irises of his eyes are bright red and they're boring into mine as if they can shoot out flames and incinerate me on the spot. Suddenly, I remember the rumors that James and Hope had mentioned; the rumors that Voldemort could read minds.

Whether he's a mind reader is still debatable, but he's good enough at reading people that he can tell that I know exactly where that weapon is. I don't understand how he can stand here so calmly. There's a greedy, avaricious gleam in his eye as waits on bated breath for me to tell him where it is and I don't understand why he needs me to give him this information. Hope told us that the weapon calls to the wielder, that it draws the wielder in. I'm no wielder, but I can feel the damn thing's presence. It's right behind him! How can he not feel it? It's practically screaming to us. And the pull's so strong that if it wasn't for James, holding onto my hand I'd be blasting through that door and –

"Ms. Evans, I'm going to ask you again. Do you or do you not want to disclose the location of the weapon to me?"

"She doesn't know where it is," James answers for me. There's a rising anxiety in his voice as he looks at me. When he thinks I'm not looking his narrowed eyes dart from one door to another, as if he's desperately trying to remember but can't recall it. He doesn't know. James doesn't know. Neither does Voldemort. But I do.

"Bring the girl, perhaps she will be of some help in loosening Ms. Evan's tongue."

I barely hear Voldemort. My heart is beating hard in my chest as I struggle not to focus in on the door that I know hides the weapon. I fidget beside James, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I can't keep still. I can hear it again. The voice calling my name. And it's coming from behind that door. James practically crushes my hand in his and he keeps sending anxious glances in my direction.

"What's wrong with you?" he asks out of the corner of his mouth.

I shake my head. My mouth is dry and I can't say anything with Voldemort keeping such a close eye on us. And besides how could I possibly explain when nobody else seems to be affected at all. They'd probably tell me that I'm mad. And maybe they'd be right. Perhaps I was still stuck in the Mists of Hell, but no I had felt this earlier, when I was running to the mausoleum because I knew that the weapon was there.

My heart skips a beat and I feel a sharp tug on my hand as James pulls me back to his side. It's no good though, a second later my feet are shuffling away from him again toward the door and the weapon. This time James grabs a fistful of my hair and presses his lips close to my ear.

"You're acting like you're possessed!"

I groan wishing I could explain that I am. I hear raised voices and a scuffle breaks out amongst the Death Eaters as they have some difficulty dragging something heavy into the room. Taking advantage of the distraction, I throw myself into James's arms, under the guise of a last goodbye.

"Fifth door. I can feel it."

James's eyes widen as he pulls away from me, but I'm not sure if he even understood what I said. His hands clench around my shoulders, shock and anger transforming and hardening his features. He makes a strange noise in the back of his throat, his eyes locking on something over my shoulder.

"What?" I ask, frightened by his reaction.

I try to turn but James won't let me budge.

"Don't look," he tells me, holding me in place.

"Why?"

"Lily, I don't think that you should see – Bloody hell!" He gasps and swallows hard. All of the color drains out of his face and his hands slip just enough so that I'm able to twist around and step out of his reach.

When I see him, I don't even recognize him. His body is so mangled, torn and bloody that I have trouble categorizing it as human, let alone as someone that I know. His face seems to be the only thing that's been left somewhat intact for the sole purpose that I would still be able to identify him.

"Oh, Rohan!"

I drop to my knees beside his destroyed body. I bend over him and rest my hand on his cheek. The skin is cool against my fingers and I realize that he was probably killed hours ago.

"Rohan, I'm so sorry," I apologize, knowing that words would never be enough. Besides, he's dead. Apologies are utterly worthless now. I touch his dark curling hair and it's sticky as if it's matted with dried blood. I shudder, completely repulsed by the sight of his body even as I force myself to press my lips to his cold forehead.

I pull back quickly. Horrified and nauseated by the ugly wounds, I turn away from him and into James's arms. I struggle to block out the images but they come anyway. In my mind I can see him being tortured as his body becomes less and less recognizable and his screams become weaker and then finally –

"I think I'm going to be sick," I tell James, clapping a hand over my mouth. I dash away from him and throw up, right at Voldemorts feet. As I lift my head and look up into his disgusted face and into his slitted red eyes, he says, "Perhaps the girl won't be necessary after all."

Only then do I realize that he's talking about Gracie. Voldemort gives me that dark smile of his, as he sees me making the connection.

"I hope you got a good long look at your friend, Ms. Evans. Because I intend to do the same to the little Moon girl." His smile widens and I detect both a sickening anticipation and excitement in his tone as he adds, "Only this time, you'll get to watch."

**A/N: Ugh, sorry it took me so long to finish this. I have a virus on my computer that's threatening to blow it up at any moment and a cold that refuses to go away. I hope this chapter wasn't too gory and creepy. I know two deaths, back to back and possibly another to come, it's a little much. But since I probably won't do Lily and James's seventh year, I kind of combined all my ideas into this face off with Voldemort. The face off will be wrapped up in the next chapter, I'm almost one hundred percent sure. I pretty much have it mapped out. And then hopefully, but then we all know how I tend to write, everything should be tied up in possibly three or four chapters. I'm hoping to finish this before the sixth anniversary of this story which would be in November. We'll see if I can make that happen. Once that happens then I'll think about whether I want to do a sequel or just a collection of oneshots. I can't believe that I've been writing this story for six years, and that I've had over 1400 reviews and 150,000 hits (probably about 149,999 of those are me every time I have to go back reread the damn thing, haha). I never imagined that it would take me this long to finish it or that I would get this much feedback. So thank you to everyone that ever took the time to review this story and kept me returning to this world over and over again. Let me know what you think of this one!**


	41. The Weapon

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I can't even afford to buy myself notebooks and have to resort to writing my stories on paper plates and paper bags. So don't sue me because everything (with the exception of the insane plot and some of the weird characters or crazier characteristics of the known characters) belong to J.K Rowling. **

**Summary**_:_ **Hope is murdered by a possessed Ophelia and leaves Lily with some cryptic last words. Tiffany and Eddie are hurt and Remus, Alice and Frank are going to take them back to Hogwarts. Lily goes after Sirius, James and Ophelia. She finds James in the guestroom and accidentally confesses her love for him in order to make him believe that she's not possessed too. A possessed Ophelia interrupts and tries to kill them again. Sirius follows and gets caught in the crossfire. James pushes Ophelia out a window. Lily and Sirius jump after them. Sirius gets stuck in a thorn bush and convinces Lily to leave him and head for the mausoleum. Lily hears a voice calling her and is powerfully drawn to the weapon. She catches up with James, saves him from a Death Eater, and follows him into the mausoleum. James opens a wrong door, unleashing an ancient dark curse that forces the victims to relive their worst memories until they go insane. Lily hears James calling her and is able to break out of the curse's hold long enough to make James shut the door and end it. Voldemort is impressed and asks them to join him. Lily and James refuse. Voldemort says he will still spare them if they tell him where the weapon is. James can't remember and Lily won't tell him. Voldemort then brings out Rohan's mangled dead body and tells her that he will do the same to Grace if she doesn't give up the location. **

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 36: Do You Remember**_**.**

**A/N: Well I might've finished this earlier if I stupidly hadn't ignored the virus on my laptop for weeks. So yea, if you get a virus on your computer, DON'T IGNORE IT just because MSword and the internet are still functioning. I got it fixed though! Also I apologize if a certain section of this chapter is a bit complex. I tried to make it clear as possible. **

**Chapter 40: The Weapon**

_"I hope you got a good long look at your friend, Ms. Evans. Because I intend to do the same to the little Moon girl." His smile widens and I detect both a sickening anticipation and excitement in his tone as he adds, "Only this time, you'll get to watch."_

Another wave of nausea passes over me and I gag. I bend over, pressing my hand to my mouth and squeezing my eyes shut. I'm vaguely aware of someone's arms encircling me from behind. But I can't stop the images from coming. They parade before my closed lids. First I see Rohan's mangled body and then I imagine Gracie's beside it. Bloody. Mangled. Lifeless. Damaged beyond repair and destroyed beyond recognition. And this time I would have to sit and watch it happen. The ground slides out from underneath my feet and the room spins.

"No. NO!" I scream, choking on the bile rising up in my throat. I drop to my knees in front of the Dark Lord.

"The girl will be spared if you tell me where the weapon is," Voldemort reminds me. He calmly rolls up his sleeves in preparation for what is to come.

I'm such a mess now that I can't even string another two words together. I think I'm going to be sick again.

Voldemort steps away from me sneering with undisguised disgust, "I will give you a moment so that you can pull yourself together and reconsider answering my question."

"Bring the girl!" He snaps his fingers.

As he returns to the others, I struggle to catch my breath. Gradually, I become aware of my surroundings again. James is sitting on the ground beside me. One arm holds me against him while his other hand smoothes my hair and rubs my back.

"Lily, I'm sorry about Rohan," James says softly and I know from the roughness of his voice that it's heartfelt and sincere. "That was a horrible way to die." I flinch as if I've been slapped. It's my fault that he died like that and if I don't speak up I'm going to watch my best friend die in the same way.

"James, they're going to do that to Gracie."

James's breath catches and he makes the same strangled sound in his throat that I heard when he first saw Rohan's body. He shudders and his hand trembles in my hair.

"I have to tell him."

His hand stops moving through my hair and his arm slackens and drops from my shoulders. As he moves away from me I feel the last of my strength draining. I drop my head into my hands and give myself up to the overwhelming weakness and exhaustion. I have no choice. We have no hope.

"Look at me, Lily." My hands are torn from my face and I look into James's smoldering hazel eyes. He holds my hands tightly and brings his face down close to mine.

"Listen," he whispers so softly that I have to lean closer and strain to hear him. "You can't tell him where it is."

"But she'll die!"

"Forget Gracie!" James says harshly. I want to lash out at him for saying that but James has an iron grip on my fingers. He continues, speaking so fast and low that I can barely keep up.

"Everyone's going to die if he gets control of that weapon. He already looked into your mind. He knows where it is. That's why all the Death Eaters are now blocking that door." I look past James and see to my horror that they've moved closer to the fifth door and are guarding it. Voldemort isn't just giving me time to pull myself together. He knows where it is now and is making his move.

"Why doesn't he just go in and get it then?" I wonder.

"Because he's not the wielder!" James hisses. "He can't be! If he had been he would have gotten his hands on it ages ago." My mind starts racing.

James is right. But only the wielder knows the name and how and when it is to be used. The weapon is utterly useless to anyone that isn't a wielder! So, why has he wasted his whole life trying to track it down? And if he already has the location then why the hell is he still asking me to tell him? I frown, thinking hard. The weapon tugs again at the back of my mind and I pull my hands out of James's as it hits me.

"He's not after the weapon. He's after the wielder," I breathe as I start turning an idea over in my mind. "The wielder becomes the weapon. He can't control the object, but maybe he could control another person…"

We both look back at Ophelia limp as a ragdoll in the arms of her controller. Everything clicks. Hope didn't blast her memories to smithereens so Voldemort wouldn't find it. Hope did it so that _Hope_ wouldn't find it. Voldemort couldn't put the Imperius Curse on her and use her as a wielder if she couldn't remember the weapon was!

"But Hope's dead now," I whisper. My heart starts to beat faster in my chest.

"Lily, it doesn't matter. A new wielder's been named. An inexperienced wielder that hasn't had time to blast her memories to smithereens or kill herself. Why do you think he's kept Grace alive for the past few hours? Why do you think he was so happy to see me? He assumed that the new wielder would be someone in the family and that as soon as one of us breathed a word about it he could take control of us." James looks down at his hands. "But it's not me. And I don't think it's Gracie either." Slowly, he lifts his eyes to mine and I know who James suspects is the new wielder.

I shake my head. No, it's impossible! I open my mouth to deny it but then Hope's last words echo in my mind.

"_Lily Evans. Your time has come. Finish it_."

The words sink in and something flares up inside me. I hear the inhuman voice calling to me, urging me to open that door and join with the power. My eyes widen as I realize the truth. Grace is not the new wielder.

I am.

I look up into James's face, horrified. The close proximity of the weapon is already causing me to tremble as the power screams out for me. James doesn't ask me what's wrong this time or if I've lost my mind. This time he understands. He catches my face between his hands and kisses me hard and fast.

"I love you," he tells me breathlessly pulling away.

The power is roaring in my ears but the amount of love that I feel for James in this moment is enough to make my heart explode.

The moment is literally shattered by a heart-wrenching scream. I turn in time to see something blast through the air and smash into the wall. It's Gracie.

"Grace!" I yell.

Grace moans and curls herself into a ball, whimpering in pain. James and I run toward her and slam into something hard and solid. I bounce off and land on my arse. James tries again as I scramble to my feet. But it's no use. Someone has conjured an invisible barrier to prevent us from rescuing her. Voldemort laughs and points his wand at Grace again.

"_CRUCIO_!"

The second scream is worse than the first as the pain inducing unforgivable hits her. I stand there powerless and paralyzed behind the barrier watching her writhing in agony. James hammers his fists against it, shouting curses at Voldemort. I can't take this anymore.

"STOP!" I yell.

Voldemort lowers his wand. Grace collapses twitching and shivering. She huddles closer to the wall and away from her tormentor. The sight of my strong, independent and courageous best friend reduced to this helpless state, infuriates me.

"Well, Lily Evans, do you have something to say to me?" Voldemort asks with a sadistic smile.

I should answer him. I should tell him where the weapon is and end this before Grace dies. But James is right. Everyone and everything good in the world will die once he gets his hands on that weapon. And the only way he can do it is through me. I stare back at him and don't say a word. Voldemort loses his smile.

"Tell me where the weapon is!" he snarls. "Or the girl dies!" He points his wand at Gracie.

A whine of panic causes me to momentarily lose my grip on my rage and the growing power within me. I have a minute, probably less than that to make up my mind. Either we all die or my best friend dies on my account. I know what has to be done, but it's so hard that I don't think I can do it. It's just one life I think. But it's my best friend's life. I shouldn't have to be making this decision.

"Do it," James growls deep in his throat beside me. "For Gracie." I feed off of his anger. The anger boils up in me, drowning out the whiny little voice of panic in my head. The weapon's power beckons to me and I answer it. No, I'm not giving in to anyone.

I make a slashing motion with my wand and shatter the barrier.

"Foolish girl!" Voldemort hisses. "You will suffer for this."

I aim a disarming spell at Voldemort, forcing him to take his attention off of Gracie and deflect my spell. The Death Eaters descend upon us and James and I turn to defend ourselves. Voldemort goes back to finish Gracie off.

"NO!"

A disheveled raven hair boy comes out of nowhere and throws himself at Voldemort. He has leaves in his hair and his shirt has been torn to shreds but Sirius Black always did have a flare for dramatic entrances.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Sirius bares his teeth and steps in front of Gracie like an animal protecting its mate. He throws the first curse, drawing Voldemort into a duel.

I stun one of the Death Eaters and James immobilizes another one. I steal a quick look over my shoulder at Sirius, who has no chance at all against Voldemort. With Voldemort fighting we're going to lose. James reaches the same conclusion that I do because he grabs my shoulder and pushes me in the other direction.

"Run for it!"

But James doesn't shove me in the direction of the exit. The power flares up in me like a flame sucking in oxygen. I race toward the fifth door. Ophelia and two Death Eaters are all that stand between me and that door. I dodge the spell from the first Death Eater but the second lets go of Ophelia. He grabs me by the throat but not before a stunning spell leaves my lips. He drops and I have to bend over to unclasp his hands from around my neck. Ophelia's deadly green flames come so close that my hair gets singed.

I throw up a shield around me but Ophelia and the other Death Eater are on either side of me. The Death Eater strikes first and I automatically shift the shield so that Ophelia has room for a clear shot on me. I realize my mistake too late. Ophelia has already breached my shield and has her hands on me. As I brace myself for the fatal flames I feel more sorry for her than I do for myself. She will have to live with this for the rest of her life. But when I look into Ophelia's face, I'm in for a shock.

"Lily, what are we doing here?"

I'm so surprised to be looking into her clear blue eyes that I don't immediately answer her. There's a Death Eater on the other side of my shield waiting to kill me, Sirius and James are probably giving up their lives for a dying Gracie as we speak, and Ophelia wants to know what we're doing here.

"Where is everyone?" she asks looking around.

"You killed Hope." The words are out of my mouth before I can stop myself. Ophelia freezes and my shield begins to flicker and fade. But I can't move. "You killed Hope and now Rohan's dead. Voldemort's going to kill the rest of us too, if you don't get out of my way," I warn her.

Ophelia just stares at me unblinking. My shield dies and I twist to face the other Death Eater only to find that he's dropped dead. As Ophelia shoves past me I see that for the first time there's fury, real fury shaping and molding her usually serene face. I don't think the Death Eaters are going to be much of a problem for us anymore.

I reach out and lift my hand to the door. It yields to me and I step through. The door solidifies behind me, trapping me in the small stone chamber with the weapon. I lift my eyes expectantly to the knight with his ruby encrusted sword. But the knight isn't there. Instead three people that I never thought I'd see alive again stand there.

In place of the knight, Hope Moon Adams holds the sword. She's flanked by Rohan Corner and a young boy that I almost don't recognize because it's been so long since I last saw him. Rohan looks exactly the same as he did this morning and his face lights up in a handsome smile when he sees me. Hope is also alive and healthy. She seems younger than she was when she died, but not quite as young as the teenager she had been impersonating. I wonder if maybe there had been a serious mistake and I had been simply tricked into believing that they died tonight, but when I look at the boy again I know that this can't be real.

"Christopher?" I gasp. Gracie's murdered little brother grins and moves closer to his mother. As he steps aside I see Gracie's dead father Mark Adams and a stranger that bears a striking resemblance to Hope and her sister Heather and glows eerily in the darkness like the others.

I don't understand what's happening. I came here to wield the weapon but the knight has vanished. Why am I surrounded by the ghosts of my murdered friends? And are they really ghosts? I close my eyes, blocking them out. The voice no longer calls to me. Instead the power hums within me, pumping wildly through my veins, and vying with my emotions for control. It's as if I've already touched the weapon and begun to absorb the power.

"_Lily Evans. Your time has come. Finish it_," Hope's "last" words whisper through my mind and my eyes snap open. She stands in front of me holding the sword out to me. My eyes flick to Rohan and Christopher, both of whom smile encouragingly and nod. I step forward to take the weapon from Hope.

The moment my fingers close around the hilt of the sword, I remember something that I read earlier in _An Extensive History of Mythical Wizarding Weaponry_. "_The Unnameable Weapon is said to be a warrior that takes on the form of whatever the chosen wielder or master is looking for." _I almost laugh out loud because Debbie had been half right when she said that the book was the key to everything. Now, I realize that I had retained this information and that I had found the weapon, but that it had already shaped itself to meet my needs when I walked into the chamber. Hope's eyes blaze as she starts to become more solid. She is my chosen warrior. And now I give her the command to fight. I want Grace, James, Sirius, and I to escape this place alive and the weapon kept out of Voldemort's reach for good. I want to avenge Hope, Rohan, and all of the other victim's deaths. I want to finish this once and for all.

I step back from Hope, knowing that even if she is a mere ghost of what she once was she is the weapon that I will wield. She has fought Death Eaters and won and escaped from the clutches of the feared Dark Lord. She was once a wielder and understands the power and how to control it. But the thing that seals my decision is the fact that she will fight for Gracie to the death. There is a bond between them that is strong enough to conquer even death; a blood tie that runs deeper and stronger now that Rohan has bonded them, and now that we all stand in the mausoleum, the final resting place of the Moon family.

I freeze, flashing back to December when I broke into Hope's fake tomb. Sirius and I had incurred the wrath of Gracie and James's ancestors, awakening a marble statue of a lion and nearly getting trampled to death. Now, Death Eaters threaten to disturb their resting place and to shed the blood of two of the Moon heirs on hallowed ground. To my surprise, I can feel that ancient wrath blazing through me. Hope is my chosen warrior and my weapon. But I have joined with her, and now it is Hope and I that call up the Moon ancestors from their grave.

I can hear them coming. There are so many of them. So many distinct voices that I almost lose myself in the rush of power; the ancient power that I now command. I grip the sword in my hand and somehow it anchors me to this room and to this reality. I have a job to do and I won't stop until it's finished.

The door disintegrates before I even touch it. Hope and I step back into the round room with the doors. More Death Eaters have joined the others but James, Sirius and Ophelia are still fighting for their lives. Ophelia has taken over for Sirius, dueling Voldemort. As we come in, she stumbles and crumples to the ground beside Rohan's corpse. James and Sirius are barely hanging on and Grace is still curled up on the ground in the same spot that I left her. The power latches onto my fear and I start to forget my purpose. Hope touches me and I feel the sword again in my hand. Rohan lays his hand on my other shoulder and I send out a desperate plea for him to forgive me and to make sure that Grace's going to make it one last time. I feel some of the power leave me and invest in him, and then he moves with purpose toward Gracie. Chris, Mark, and the young man each head for one of the other doors.

I shut my eyes and call them.

The three other doors simultaneously explode. Ghosts pour in from all directions. Hundreds and thousands of ghosts from centuries past flood the room and more keep coming. One of the Death Eaters shrieks like a little girl and trips over another Death Eater in their haste to escape. Some tremble in fear. Another one streaks out of the place howling and looking as if he's seen a ghost. With the exception of Voldemort, nearly everyone is distracted.

"They're just ghosts. They can't harm you!" Voldemort snaps, commanding his men back to their posts. The remaining few snap to attention and attack my friends.

"Stop what you're doing and step away from them!" I call out to them. "If you harm any of my friends you will regret it."

One of the Death Eaters giggles. "And if we do? What are you going to do with your ghost army? Frighten us?"

One should never underestimate the power of fear.

I strike the ground with the sword and unleash the magic. The ground trembles. In the other rooms coffins erupt open with clouds of dust. Cobwebs are torn and tossed aside. Statues teeter dangerously and topple and I hear my ruby eyed lion roar. I can feel the vibrations tingling through me as the lion statue leaves his post and gallops toward us.

The giggling Death Eater isn't giggling anymore. He's too busy running away. The doorway isn't big enough but the massive lion breaks through with another mighty roar. Rocks fly as the wall around the doorway shatters apart in its wake. Cracks are forming in the walls and in the floor, climbing higher and stretching out like vines. I throw up a hand halting the cracks progress before the entire building collapses on us.

The lion tosses another Death Eater aside with his great paw of stone and turns to face Voldemort. He raises a paw but Voldemort smashes it into little pieces with a flick of his wand. The lion roars in anger, rearing up onto his hind legs. He comes dangerously close to accidentally crushing Sirius and Gracie. The power is so strong I'm afraid that I'll lose control of it and harm one of my friends. I need to get them out.

Gracie's little brother runs past me and up to the lion. Instantly, it drops its head down onto its paws at his command. Sirius grabs Gracie, scooping her up into her arms. He follows Chris, nimbly climbing up the lion's nose between it's ruby eyes and then clambering over the wide forehead and the lion's mane. Chris hops down off the mane and straddles the lion's marble back as if it's a horse. Sirius mimics him but he props Grace up between them, wrapping his body around hers. To my shock and horror James runs away from the lion.

"JAMES!" I scream.

My hold on the power weakens and the wall starts to flood with cracks again. I have to turn away to stop the mausoleum from crashing down around us. When I look back James is dragging Ophelia away from Rohan's body. The lion circles, forcing Voldemort to jump out of the way and his spell aimed at me to go awry. Another crack hits the lion and again I call upon someone else's knowledge to stop the fissure and prevent it from crumbling. Sirius and Chris persuade the lion to slow down and bend at the knees. James gives Ophelia a leg up and then swings himself onto the lion's back behind her.

"Lily!" James cries, twisting around to face me. He starts to dismount but Ophelia grabs a fistful of his shirt and holds him in place.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The lion follows my orders and gallops out of the room and up into the safety of the passage way. I can hear James screaming my name over and over again even after they disappear.

Once they're gone and James's voice finally fades away I feel a wave of profound relief wash over me. The cracks deepen and threaten to give way, but my friends are nearly safe and many of the Death Eaters are dead or hurt. It's getting harder for me to hold on. I discover that I don't want to.

Someone touches me and I turn to look at the young man that bears a striking resemblance to the Moon sisters. He gives me a rueful smile and I know that this has to be the last of the Moon siblings, the uncle that James never met and the man that killed himself to protect his younger sister. Now, I know why he's here. I don't want Voldemort to ever have a second chance at seizing control of the weapon. I have to destroy it. Harry is going to help me destroy it.

I drop the sword and hold out both of my hands to him.

"NO!" I hear Voldemort scream.

Harry reaches out and takes my hands in his and I feel the strength that I need to let go. It's painful. Far more painful than I ever expected to let go of such power and even harder to let go of it once you know how closely your own life is fused to it. Once the power ceases, the whole mausoleum will collapse, burying what remains of the weapon and burying me with it. It's the only way to stop Voldemort. Because even if I were to hold onto that power and use it for good, one day I would fall into Voldemort's clutches or lose control of the weapon. I don't want to wait in fear of that day.

The floor of the mausoleum shudders and quakes beneath my feet and I lose my balance. The cracks are spreading but I let it go. My friends are safe out of harm's way and Voldemort is forced to dodge boulders from the collapsing ceiling. When one comes too close he apparates away screaming out his frustration in a last curse that brings an avalanche of rocks down close to my head.

A wall of ghosts somehow protects me from harm. I close my eyes letting go of all the wrath and vengeance, releasing my hold on the Moon ancestry and on Hope, my weapon and warrior.

The ghosts crowd around me. Harry, Hope and Rohan are at the center, but Grace's father is there, and other faces, some of whom I feel like I knew for the short time that I was joined to Hope and Harry though I've never met them. The power drains out of me and I sag against the quivering wall at my back. My fingers tingle as the last magic spreads to my fingertips. It hovers there, uncertainly.

I'm so scared to die. I look at Rohan and Hope for reassurance but they're already fading away. Hope mouths a "Thank you" to me and Rohan whispers a last "I love you" before they vanish. I can't feel Harry's hands any more because he's no longer there. As the ghosts leave me so does my shield of protection. I pick up the discarded sword, gripping it between my sweating palms. A fissure opens up in the ceiling over head and I watch in slow motion as the walls start to collapse in on themselves. Something hits the back of my head and I see stars.

The last thing I remember is the mighty roar of a lion and James's voice shouting my name. Then the world goes silent as everything fades to black.

* * *

When I open my eyes I see stars again. There are millions and millions of stars up there in that velvety black tapestry. They wink back at me as I stare up at them in wonder. I try to lift my arm to touch them but it's weighed down by something heavy and hard as rock. My gaze moves lower and I see heaps and piles of rocks of all shapes and sizes all around me. I strain to sit up and use my free arm to push the slab of marble off of my chest. Shoving the rock aside, I brush the rest of the smaller stones off of me and shake pebbles and dust out of my long hair. I take a deep breath and start to cough. I spit something like grains of sand out of my mouth.

Wiping my mouth, I take in my surroundings. By some miracle I'm alive and sitting in the midst of the rubble and debris left behind in the collapse of the mausoleum. A frown creases my brow and I can feel a headache coming on. I sacrificed myself to keep the weapon out of Voldemort's hands and there's no logical explanation as to how I could have possibly survived. I let go of the power. I watched the mausoleum collapse around me. I got caught in an avalanche of rocks and knocked unconscious. The last thing I remember was hearing the lion and James shouting my name and then -

James!

My heart jumps into my throat as I spot his head of unruly black hair amongst the white marble remains. I leap to my feet, ignoring the vertigo from my head injury and tripping over a marble column in my haste to reach his buried body.

"James!"

I reach both hands in and frantically start to dig him out of the rubble. I toss the smaller rocks aside and heave the last stone off of him with strength and muscles I didn't know I had. Panting, I bend over him and take his face between my hands.

"James, can you hear me?" I push his messy hair out of his eyes and stroke his pale cheek. "James, come on open your eyes!" I slap his cheek lightly but James won't open his eyes. Oh, Merlin. Not this. Anything but this. It's as if I'm back in the collapsing mausoleum again. The world seems to be closing in on me. My chest gets tight and I can't breathe. I'm literally suffocating. Tears sting in my eyes and I swallow back a hard lump in my throat.

"Please, James, come back to me," I moan, shuddering as a sob tears through my chest. "I need you."

"Good," a voice breathes in my ear. "Cause I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

James's eyes snap open and he smiles up at me. Our eyes lock and I'm so relieved that my breath comes out in a strangled laugh. He brushes my hands aside and sits up as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He's alright. Thank, Merlin!

"I thought I'd lost you," I whisper, taking his hand between both of my own. I stroke the back of his hand. "When I saw you like that I really thought that you were dead and that I couldn't go on."

"Well, I'm glad you finally know how it feels," James says, pulling his hand out of mine and standing abruptly.

"What?" I stay seated dazed in the wreck, watching as he turns his back on me. He seems to be giving me the cold shoulder and I have no idea why he's acting like this. "I don't understand. What's wrong James?

"What's wrong?" James echoes me, his voice strained. Now, I'm sure that he's upset with me. "What you just did was wrong! I had to watch you throw your life away down there! You used that damned weapon to make me get on that lion and leave you to face Voldemort alone. That's when I realized the noble idiotic thing you had planned." James runs his hands through his hair and his back stiffens before he spins around to face me.

"You didn't even try to get yourself out! You just sat down and gave up like some stupid martyr." My jaw drops at the brashness of this prick standing before me and I start to tremble with rage but James still isn't finished.

"I was lucky I got there before you got crushed to death and it was sheer luck that the lion threw us off of him and outside before the whole thing came down on us! You could've died Lily and all because of some stupid, idiotic-"

I can't believe him. I leap to my feet and meet him head on.

"I'm sorry that I tried to do something noble and save everyone's arse. Instead of thanking me for trying to save my friends, you have the nerve to pretend to be dead so you can watch my heart break and then to tell me that what I did was wrong. All you ever think of is your own pain. You are the most selfish -"

James closes the space between us and cuts me off with a heated kiss. His hand slips behind the back of my neck, tangling in my hair. I uncurl my fists and press my palms flat against the thin material of his shirt. I can feel the heat of his skin simmering beneath the fabric. My hands greedily climb up his chest, hesitate at the bare skin of his neck and then smoothly slide up to cup his cheeks. I break the kiss, holding his face away from mine as I catch my breath.

"You gave me such a scare, Lily!" James blurts out. "When I realized that you were planning on killing yourself-"

"I'm sorry!" I apologize, caressing his cheeks. "All I wanted to do was get everyone out alive and keep Voldemort from coming after me again and hurting one of you. I didn't know what to do, James. I thought it was the only way I could -"

James kisses me gently, shutting me up. I start to melt into his arms again and my mind threatens to go blank. I catch myself smiling at the trick and force myself to pull away before I lose the point that I intended to make and every other thought that's left in my love struck brain.

"No more playing dead," I tell him, sternly.

"As long as you don't try to get yourself killed again."

His hands sneak up to cover mine. I study his hazel eyes for a moment before I nod.

"I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask."

James breathes a sigh of relief. To my disappointment he pulls my hands down and away from his face. He let's go of one of my hands and leads me out of the rubble and debris with the other.

"Did the others get out okay?" I ask anxiously as he straightens his glasses.

"Yea, Ophelia apparated with Sirius and Gracie to get help for her."

I hesitate, swallowing hard before I make my next inquiry.

"Do you think she'll make it?" I whisper.

James doesn't answer me immediately but he tightens his grip on my hand almost painfully. His face is carefully turned away from my own so that I can't read what's going on behind those glasses.

"Grace's one of the strongest people I know. She won't go down without putting up a fight," he says finally. I try to see this in an optimistic light, but the fact that James did not give me a straight answer is discouraging.

Something catches my eye and I stoop down to examine it more closely. When I pull my hand out of James's and clear away the rubble, I see the ruby encrusted hilt and automatically seize it. I draw the gleaming sword out and stare at the glowing blade and the sparkling jewels. Though it physically shines in the glow of the stars and a half moon, it dims in comparison to the last time I drew this sword. Then I had used it to wield the magic. It had been a mere vehicle. Now, without the power it seemed to have lost its flare.

"That's the weapon!" James exclaims wide eyed.

"No, it isn't." I shake my head. "Not anymore."

I take a deep breath and hold the sword out to him.

"I think this belongs to your family."

James stares at the weapon and then back at me. He puts his hands in his pockets and backs away from it.

"Lily, the sword's yours now."

"James, I'm not the wielder and this isn't the weapon. I let the power go."

"It doesn't matter, Lily. That's the sword of Godric Gryffindor. You accepted it and used it like a true Gryffindor. You've earned it."

I look down at the weapon that's been in James's family for centuries. Like the power, I don't want it. I wish I could have left it in the rubble and buried it along with everything else but the sword seems to fit in my hand. I can't imagine bringing this back to the dormitories and keeping it in my trunk. I probably would be tempted to use it on Debbie McLaggen.

"Come on," I say to James, taking his hand and dragging the sword along in the other. "I want to see Gracie."

"What are you going to do with it?" James asks me as we walk through the graveyard at a brisk pace. I consider this question for a moment before looking up at him.

"I think I'm going to take it home and put it back where it belongs."

James smiles and squeezes my hand. And then we head for home, back to Hogwarts.

**A/N: Well, there you have it. The battle is finally over. It's kind of odd because when I first started planning this battle years ago I had planned for Lily to fight **_**against**_** Hope and the dead relatives. Creepy. Obviously I was influenced by the sixth book but I like how this version of the battle panned out. Next up, probably just tying up some loose ends and then maybe a chapter and then the epilogue? Not sure. Thank you everyone who took the time to review. It means a lot to me. As the story winds down to the last couple of chapters I would really appreciate it if you'd tell me if you'd be interested in reading a **_**sequel**_** or a **_**Grace/Sirius**_** short story. I would also really, really like it if you'd tell me **_**one**_** or **_**two things**_** that I can **_**improve upon**_** and **_**one**_** or **_**two things**_** about the story that you **_**liked**_**. I'm so close to finishing this story that any reviews at all would be sincerely appreciated to help me make that **_**November deadline**_** I've set for myself! **


	42. The Endless Night

**I'll Fight For You **

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I can't even afford to buy myself notebooks and have to resort to writing my stories on paper plates and paper bags. So don't sue me because everything (with the exception of the insane plot and some of the weird characters or crazier characteristics of the known characters) belong to J.K Rowling. **

**Summary**_:_ **Voldemort offers Lily a choice: let her best friend die or tell him where the weapon is. James tells her not to tell him anything because he doesn't think that Voldemort is the wielder. They realize that Lily is and that Voldemort is after the wielder not the weapon because he plans on using the Imperio Curse to control the wielder. When Lily won't forfeit the location and herself to Voldemort's control, he starts to torture Grace. Lily makes up her mind and breaks down the barrier. Sirius shows up to protect Grace. James sends Lily after the weapon while they battle Voldemort and Death Eaters. Lily attacks the Death Eater controlling Ophelia, breaking the curse on her and telling her what she's done. Ophelia goes after the Death Eaters and Lily gets to the weapon. The weapon changes to meet Lily's needs, transforming into Hope, Rohan and murdered members of Grace's family. Using the ghosts of Grace's family, Lily calls up all of the Moon ancestors and scares the Death Eaters. She then starts to tear down the mausoleum to trap them all in and kill them after Grace, Sirius, James and Ophelia escape on the marble statue of a lion that once tried to kill her and Sirius when they opened Hope's "coffin" in January. Lily then decides that the only way to stop Voldemort from taking control of her and getting the power of the weapon is to destroy the weapon and herself. With the help of Harry Moon and the other ghosts, Lily let's go of the power and the mausoleum collapses. James rides back in on the lion to rescue Lily and gets them out before the whole thing closes in on them. Lily wakes up in the wreckage, finds James and thinks he's dead. James gets angry with her for trying to kill herself, Lily gets mad at him for being angry with her and for pretending he was dead. They argue. They kiss. They make up. Lily finds the sword and James tells her to keep it. They go back to Hogwarts to see if Gracie is alright.**

**For a more complete summary of the whole story, see **_**Ch. 36: Do You Remember**_**.**

**A/N: Happy Halloween everyone! You're going to hate me at the end of this chapter but good news! The next chapter is DONE and EDITED and I am currently working on the epilogue. So check back on November 6****th**** for the next chapter (unless I get a really good response to this chapter and then it will go up earlier). The epilogue will go up before the end of November and unless I suddenly drop dead I will have the story completed by the sixth anniversary! YAY! **

**Chapter 41: The Endless Night**

James and I trudge up the path winding through the woods. A distant light shines through the trees and I wonder if that's an unusually bright star or if James has neighbors. I'm having difficulty focusing on it because my head's started to pound. Worrying about James, fighting with James, and snogging James had allowed me to ignore my head injury but now as my vision goes fuzzy I realize that I'm past the point of distraction. I trip over a tree root and James catches me against him. His heart is beating fast and his muscles are tense. He's looking at the light as he sets me back on my feet.

"There's someone out here," he whispers and drags me off the path. Again I stumble and this time the world keeps tilting at an odd angle. My head feels like it's going to split in half. I sway when James tries to right me again.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"I think I hit my head," I mumble. The sword, suddenly too heavy in my sweating palm, thumps to the ground. I bend to pick it up but there are two swords now and the ground keeps shifting. I end up kneeling in the dirt with my head between my hands and the sword forgotten.

James drops to the ground beside me with a muffled curse. His strong arm encircles my shoulders and his fingers comb through my hair, delicately probing for the head wound. I yelp when he finds it but his fingers are gentle. A light flashes through the woods closer this time. James inhales sharply and presses a feather light kiss to the tender spot.

"We're almost there." He swings me up into his arms and cradles me against his chest. The pounding in my head is almost bearable when combined with the reassuring beat of James's heart. My chest rises and falls with his and I cling closer to him.

"Freeze! Stop right where you are and don't move a muscle."

The light hits him in the eye and he staggers back a step. With me in his arms he's unarmed and helpless. Weakly I lift my head and slide my hand toward my back pocket where my wand is.

"I said FREEZE!"

James ducks so that the red light misses us and gingerly sets me down on the damp ground with an audible curse.

"Emmy stop, that's James Potter!"

The light is lowered enough so that the wand holder – a stately tall witch that strikes an imposing figure – and her smaller and prettier colleague are revealed in the ambience. The one in charge snaps at James to keep his hands where she can see them, but the attractive long haired brunette ignores her orders and rushes to James's side.

"Hestia!" James cries as the girl flings herself into his arms.

"Oh, James! I'm so happy to see you!" she squeals.

"Me too." James keeps his arm around her shoulder, drawing her toward me. "Hestia, this is my friend, Lily." The girl flashes me a bright smile but her brows knit as she takes me in and glances back at James. She sort of reminds me of the gorgeous McLaggen even though she's tiny and has a friendly heart shaped face. James leans in close - too close and whispers something in her ear. I'm shocked at how quickly the jealousy flares up and I wince as the pain in my head increases to a full fledged hammering.

"Auror Jones, stop flirting with that boy at once or I will not hesitate to kill you both!" I hear the older witch yelling shrilly. Hestia rolls her eye and screams something back. Then I feel the cool tip of a wand pressed against my temple and the voices swirl away.

* * *

"Better now, Ms. Evans?" a voice laced with concern asks me. I blink open my eyes and the face of the stately witch and the Potter's kitchen swims into focus. I sit up so fast that I almost knock heads with her. To my surprise the pain in my head is completely gone. So are James and Hestia.

"I-"

"I'll take that as a yes," she gives me a thin smile and gracefully gets to her feet. She brushes herself off with an air of dignity and then offers me a bony hand. "By the way I'm Emmeline Vance, head of the second divisions of aurors and this sword I believe belongs to you." I accept it and allow her to pull me to my feet. She helpfully keeps her hand at my elbow, leading me over to the table where Hestia and James have their heads bent close together and are deep in conversation. The green eyed monster rises in my chest and Emmeline coughs loudly. Their heads snap up and James's cheeks flush a guilty shade of pink when he sees me.

"Now, if you two would stop whispering sweet nothings to each other – you would see that your friend has been healed and that I am willing to allow you both to return to Hogwarts."

Hestia Jones eagerly offers to accompany us back to Hogwarts but thankfully her superior reminds her that there is work to be done and that she will be facing punishment for disobeying orders. I could have kissed that woman. Before Hestia departs, she gives James another hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

"Owl me sometime," she calls after him and James gives her one of those charming smiles that used to make me sick.

When we get back to Hogwarts and land in the Gryffindor Common Room, I let go of James immediately. When he reaches for my hand again, I climb through the portrait and let it slam shut in his face.

"What's the matter with you?" James asks when he catches up with me again.

Instead of telling him the truth, I mumble something about being worried about Gracie. The color drains out of James's face and he's too distracted to press further. Soon he breaks into a jog and I have to struggle to keep up.

We're almost there when we run into Alice and Frank. Alice rushes into my arms and starts babbling incoherently, close to tears. It's a long time before I can extract myself from her arms. I'm surprised when Frank gives me a one armed hug too.

"Sirius told us he thought you were dead," Alice explains as she loops her arm through Frank's and leans against him. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy as if she's been crying and her hair is in disarray.

"You guys made it out okay?"

Alice nods.

"Thank Merlin, we didn't run into any other Death Eaters. Tiffany and Eddie are recovering in the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey just kicked everyone else out."

"What about Gracie?"

Frank and Alice exchange a quick look. She brings her hand to her mouth and gnaws on her fingernails so that I almost can't understand her muffled answer.

"She's at 's."

St. Mungos! What's she doing there? Why wasn't she here in the infirmary with the others?

"Is she alright?" James asks.

Alice keeps her hand over her mouth and tears well in her eyes. Frank has to speak for her.

"Sirius didn't want to talk about it. He was really upset and Remus couldn't get a straight answer out of him after he told us he thought you were dead." Alice buries her head into Frank's shoulder and I see that she's shaking. He swallows and strokes Alice's hand. "But I think he said that they couldn't do anything for her. They – they don't know how much longer she's going to hang on. I'm -"

But James doesn't want to hear condolences or expressions of sympathy. He seizes my hand and yanks my arm so hard that the sword slips from my grasp and hits the floor with a reverberating ringing sound. Frank stoops down to pick it up, but James is still pulling me along in his wake and refuses to let go.

"Wait," Frank calls after us. "You dropped your sword!"

"Hold on to it for me," I yell back over my shoulder. Frank and Alice are utterly bewildered but I'll have to explain myself later. I'm too busy gasping for breath. James and I are running as if Voldemort and his horde of Death Eater minions are nipping at our heels. He skids to a halt in front of a tapestry and pulls me through an archway behind it.

"James," I pant as I stumble down the stone staircase behind him. I recognize it as the secret passageway from earlier. "Where are we going?"

"St. Mungos."

He tears through the tapestry at the bottom and we don't stop running until we reach the staff room. James sticks his wand into the locked door and whispers a spell. The lock clicks and we hurry inside. The room is empty except for Professor Binns slumped in a rocking chair by the fire. He glides up from the chair with an irritated sigh and a bored expression.

"Mr. Rotter and Ms. Evan what are you doing in the staff room?"

Rotter. Haha. I'll have to remember that one.

"I had a question about the essay, professor," James lies smoothly. "But I just overheard Madam Pince saying that a ghost is too incompetent to teach History of Magic. I think she was on her way to speak with Dumbledore about the matter."

Binns immediately forgets all about us. He floats out of the room muttering something about Madam Pincher and how it was always the librarians that you had to watch out for. I round on James as soon as he's gone.

"You don't even take History of Magic!"

"He doesn't know that." James smirks as he opens a cabinet that blends in so well with the stone wall that I wouldn't have known it was there. He's obviously broken into the staff room before.

"Still, that was disrespectful to lie to a professor," I admonish him because I'm not supposed to be finding anything funny right now.

"Lily, he just called me _Rotter_."

I hide a smile as James slams the cabinet shut and returns with floo powder in his hand. Automatically, I link arms with him as we step into the fireplace. The flames roar to life and the staff room spins and vanishes into the swirling inferno. When we step out of the fireplace, I'm so dizzy that if it wasn't for James holding me up I would've fallen face first in the middle of the waiting room.

"Don't pass out on me," he whispers.

"I'm not going to," I mumble but James practically carries me across the room and makes me sit down in one of the rickety wooden chairs.

"Wait here."

I lean back and close my eyes for a minute. When I open them I wish I hadn't because James has shouldered his way past two blushing older women to get to the front of the line and is turning on the charm for the receptionist as well. I roll my eyes as James leans all the way over the desk to whisper something to the receptionist that causes her to fluff her hair and knock half the papers off her desk. James nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to assist her. I can't believe he's flirting with the receptionist too! I get up with every intention of putting a stop to it, but James has already handed the papers back to her and left with a friendly wave.

"I see you've made a new _friend_." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Mmhmm." James wraps an arm around my shoulder and hurries us toward the elevators. I notice he's carrying a folded piece of paper in one of his hands and shake his arm off.

"She gave you her number?" I snort.

James gives me a weird look and I realize that it's a muggle thing. He seems to cotton on though because his expression hardens. He scans the slip of paper and then tosses it to me. It unfurls in my hand and I gasp.

"This is Gracie's information." I gape at him.

"You can thank my new _friend_," he snaps and I turn red. Before I can apologize, the elevator dings and the doors slide open. James grabs my hand and squeezes us into a queue piling into the elevator.

When we reach the next floor more people shove their way inside, forcing us back in the already cramped space. James slides both of his arms around me, pulling my body back flush against his so we can make more space for others. With my butt practically pressed between his legs and James hands running up and down my arms, the temperature in the box seems to sky rocket. I smooth out the piece of paper and try to read it in the dim lighting of the elevator but I can't concentrate with James is doing _that_. Flustered, I look up to see that we've already missed our floor and now we'll have to ride the elevator back up again. James's hands stop their delicate trek up and down my arms and clamp down on my wrists. The paper falls out of my hand as his breath tickles my neck.

"Did you read it?"

I nod and attempt to ignore the pleasant shiver that runs down my spine as he rests his chin on my shoulder and his soft hair brushes my cheek.

"She's in the long term ward for spell damage," he whispers, kissing my ear.

I freeze. Long term? James buries his face in the crook of my neck and takes a deep breath as if he doesn't want to face what's waiting for us on the other side of those doors.

"Lily, it's where they keep the insane and those that never wake up."

My blood goes cold as the doors slide open and we step onto Grace's floor. James and I walk right past the person at the desk arguing with a hysterical witch that has tentacles where her arms should have been, and make our way down to Grace's room. We're approaching a set of double doors labeled _Critical _whena wizard in a lime green robe stops us.

"We're here to see Grace Adams," I explain, squeezing James's hand.

"I'm afraid that no one is allowed beyond this point unless you are her family?" He eyes both of us skeptically. I want to tell him that she's my sister but something tells me that this elderly man wouldn't understand that sometimes family consists of more than just shared blood.

"Well, I'm her cousin," James answers. "And this is – Dad!" He breaks off and lets go of my hand as the doors behind the wizard burst open.

"James!"

Danny Potter envelopes his son in a crushing embrace. I step back to give the two a moment. His dad has his eyes closed but tears leak out from underneath his eyelids and silently trek down his worn cheeks. There are so many more lines in Danny's face than I remember that it seems like he's aged at least ten years since the last time I saw him. After a minute he pulls back and holds James at arm length.

"Are you hurt, son?" he asks gruffly.

James shakes his head.

"How's Mum?"

"Better."

"And Gracie?"

His father searches his face for a long moment before whispering, "You better come with me."

Danny pushes the door open, taking James with him. As the doors swing shut behind him I see him pulling James tight against him and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. The wizard in the lime green robe steps in front of me again with a fake sympathetic smile.

"There's a waiting room back that way. The tea room and the gift shop are on the next floor."

I sigh and turn back dejectedly to take my seat in the waiting room. As I pass by another little corridor I catch sight of a lone figure sitting on the floor. He looks so small and young slumped against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest, but at least someone bandaged his arm and gave him a new shirt.

"Sirius?" I say softly, stopping in front of him

"Lily?" Sirius's head jerks up and he looks at me with wide incredulous eyes. "You're alright?"

"I think so." Because physically I am. As for emotionally and mentally, well, I've had better days.

"But how did you -?" Sirius still isn't entirely convinced that I'm real.

"James came back for me," I answer.

A ghost of a smirk crosses Sirius's lips.

"I knew he would. He's crazy about you. I didn't think his lunacy would be enough to get you both out alive this time, but Prongs has always been lucky." His voice breaks off and his smirk is swallowed up by the shadows in his face. He's thinking of those of us who weren't so lucky.

"They wouldn't let me see her either," I say softly, slouching against the wall across from him.

"Only family," Sirius repeats hollowly. His face twists into a scowl. Sirius was disowned by his real family years ago. The Potters had practically adopted him. I know that it's killing him that he's not allowed in there because he has every right to be there.

"Sirius?" I push off the wall and crouch down on the floor before him so that we're eye to eye. "You and Ophelia brought her here. Tell me the truth. How is she?"

The scowl dissolves and the anger flits away. What's left in his face frightens me more than any verbal answer he could have given me. His hands tighten convulsively around his knees and his eyes suddenly seem suspiciously moist.

"She's-" he pauses to swallow and then it all pours out. "It's bad, really bad. She wouldn't wake up and Ophelia was scared. She brought us straight here instead of the infirmary and when she told the healers what happened they warned Danny-" Sirius's voice cracks and he ducks his head. His hands clench in his hair and I can feel a cold hand clenching painfully around my own heart as he whispers, "Even if she does wake up, she'll probably have to spend the rest of her life in St. Mungos."

I lose my balance and have to sit down on the floor hard. Rohan had told me that the curse was deadly. He told me that his grandfather had only survived in a coma for two months after he was hit with it. But Ophelia told us that Rohan had been studying the effects of the curse and I thought that maybe there was hope for a full recovery. Now, I realize how foolish I had been to rely on Rohan. Poor Rohan who was probably brutally murdered as soon as they arrived and now Gracie, oh Gracie.

A string of colorful swears and an odd coughing noise interrupts my thoughts. I look up to see Sirius hiding his face from view and tearing feverishly at his hair with both hands. I had almost forgotten he was there, but now I remember that I'm not the only one who's facing the loss of someone they love.

"Sirius." I stretch out a tentative hand and rest it gently on one of his arms. He stops yanking his hair out long enough to shake me off.

"I'm fine," he insists in a hoarse voice. He lowers his arms but keeps his face behind his thick black hair and carefully turned away from mine.

"Sirius," I persist.

"I think you should go find Ophelia." It's not a suggestion, it's an order.

I hesitate, not wanting to leave him like this in this state. I want to be here near Gracie too in case something changes or James comes back. But Sirius looks as if he's hanging on by a thread and he obviously doesn't want me to be there when he breaks down.

"Please, Lily," Sirius pleads with me in a trembling voice. "Please, just go."

He starts to shake all over and he drops his head into his hands, covering his hair with his hands. I blink back tears of my own and touch his knee.

"Come and get me if anything changes," I tell him as I withdraw my hand and rise to my feet. He nods once and I turn my back on him.

I hear the first sobs as my feet leave his safe haven behind and return to the main floor. It takes all of my will power to keep going and to hold it together.

* * *

Having something to do helps me keep the tears at bay. I check the waiting room and then the Tea Room on the fifth floor. At this hour there's hardly anyone here and the gift shop was closed for the night hours ago. I take the elevator down to the other floors and search all the waiting rooms but Ophelia is missing. I go back to the main floor and the reception area, wondering if Sirius had set up the whole thing as a decoy and Ophelia had already flooed back to Hogwarts. I ignore the receptionist's dirty look and restlessly pace the ground floor one last time.

A plaque on a big old wooden door at one end of the hallway catches my eye. A cross is etched into the metal followed by elegantly carved letters that might have been Latin or Greek. I lean closer to try to make them out, and the door groans and creaks open beneath my palms. I peek inside but the room is wreathed in shadows, and it's hard to make anything out. Stealing a quick look over my shoulder, I slip into the room and push the protesting door shut behind me.

It takes a minute before my eyes adjust, but when they do I'm in for a surprise. The room is small and narrow but it's lit by the wavering, flickering light of hundreds of candles lining the walls and the stone floor. The candles are held in red glasses, giving the room a rosy or bloody red hue. There are a few wooden benches in front of me with a narrow carpeted walkway squeezed between them. I walk the short aisle and approach a stone table draped in a white cloth at the end. Leaning back, I tilt my head up to examine a circular stained glass window over the altar that's dull in the darkness but that must explode into color with sunlight. Though I've never stepped foot into a church before, I imagine that this must be a chapel.

"They sensed that you were coming."

My breath catches, and I whip around with my wand raised. Heart-pounding, I scan the room for the source of the voice but I'm blinded by the flames of the hundreds of candles. Suddenly, a cold hand seizes my wrist. I scream.

"Stop! You'll scare them away!" a voice cries. I stop struggling. The space to the left of me ripples and shimmers and Ophelia Lovegood literally appears out of thin air. Merlin, sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to get used to the quirks of living in the Wizarding World or if I'm going to die of a heart attack before I'm twenty.

"I almost killed you Ophelia!" I snap, taking my wrist back.

"You wouldn't have succeeded," Ophelia informs me calmly, pointing to the candles. "We're surrounded by firewingers."

"Firewingers?" I narrow my eyes and look around the room suspiciously.

"They're tiny invisible creatures that breed in the flames of candles. That's why the candles are encased in the red glasses. Xenophilius told me that firewingers are only attracted to the color red," she explains patiently. I stare at her in disbelief and then back at the glasses shining like millions of rubies in the firelight.

"What do firewingers do?"

"They bring comfort and protection to the ones that need it most," Ophelia whispers. After all the great and terrible things I saw Ophelia do today, I had almost forgotten what she was really like. Hearing her talk like this doesn't unsettle me anymore. To others Ophelia might seem crazy in these moments, but I think that now I understand.

Ophelia wanders over to a bench and sits down. I hesitate and then take a seat beside her. Together we watch the flames and seek the invisible comfort bringers until our vision blurs with tears that refuse to go away.

"I'm sorry." Ophelia's voice shatters the peaceful silence that had settled upon us. Her face glitters in the firelight where tears have made their steady flow down her cheeks. "I don't expect you, or Grace, or the Potters, or anyone else to ever forgive me, but I'm sorry."

"Ophelia," I sigh, wishing that I didn't have to have this difficult conversation right now. "It wasn't your fault. You were _Imperiused. _You had no control over your actions."

Ophelia shakes her head and squeezes her eyes shut. She wraps her arms around her middle as if warding off a stomach ache.

"But I did have control over my actions. For example, if I had been ordered to have a conversation with someone in Chinese while under the _Imperius_ I wouldn't have been able to because I don't know Chinese." I frown, wondering what this has anything to do with killing Hope when she abruptly meets my eyes. "Lily, do you know how to perform the _Avada Kedavra_ curse any other fatal spell?"

"Of course not," I reply, horrified by her suggestion.

"That's what I thought. If you were _Imperiused_ and ordered to _Advada Kedavra_ someone on the spot, do you think you would succeed in performing such a complex curse that you knew nothing about?"

"No."

"Exactly," Ophelia says bitterly. And now I get the point that Ophelia was trying to make.

"You've killed someone before?" I gasp, reeling back from her.

"No, but I was taught the curse and I mastered it. Later that knowledge was used against me. Isn't that just as bad?" Ophelia gives me a hard look as if she wants me to condemn her. It shocks me that Ophelia had learned to perform the Dark Arts and had the will to master it. I wonder what else I don't know about her and quickly suppress these thoughts. This is my friend Ophelia for Merlin's sake! She thinks that there are invisible creatures buzzing around in the candlelight.

"Ophelia, it doesn't matter. You wouldn't have killed anyone if you hadn't been under the _Imperius_."

"I killed two Death Eaters in the mausoleum after I snapped out of it," she solemnly confesses, staring down at her hands as if they're tainted with blood.

I grip the bench beneath me with both hands and look at the pale girl beside me lit by the bloody red hue of the candles. Though I had stunned, hexed, and injured numerous Death Eaters I don't think I could have ever directly killed any of them. Yes, I had brought down the ceiling of a mausoleum onto a few of their heads, but if I had had to kill an individual face to face I'm not sure if I could have done it.

"That was self-defense," I excuse her when I finally find my voice again. "You were only trying to protect yourself and your friends."

Ophelia shrugs and raises a hand to roughly wipe at her tears. When she lifts her eyes again, they're so haunted that I brace myself for the worse.

"And keeping a secret that could have saved all of the lives that were lost in the past few months. Was that self-defense and excused in the name of love too?" she asks in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Ophelia, what did you do?" I ask against my will, terrified of what the answer might be.

"Do you know who taught me how to kill?" It's a rhetorical question and Ophelia goes on even though I can't do anything more than shake my head. "Last summer my father, Auror Kenny, gave me a lesson in the Dark Arts that I'll never forget. I learned how to do things to people that made me sick. I know how to get your deepest darkest secrets out of you and to hide mine so well that you would never find them. I can make you do anything and I can end your life with a flick of my wrist." I sit in stunned silence, wondering when the room got so cold.

"I hated every minute of it, but my father told me that there was a war brewing on the horizon and that I would have to know about these things if I wanted to survive or more importantly if I wanted to protect and shelter the ones I loved most. He was right in a way I guess. If I hadn't learned some of that stuff Voldemort would have gotten control of Hope months ago, but because I did the secret was safe with me." The flickering flames reflect in her wet eyes as she stares off into the distance, beyond the stone walls of the chapel and the city of London outside. A muscle twitches in her jaw and she shudders.

"My father was the one who betrayed Hope. Soon after that lesson I found out that he was a spy for the Death Eaters. He'd been passing them information for months, maybe years. He was the traitor. He got them into the Ministry and helped them torture and kill Rohan's grandfather. And then being Hope's _trusted_ friend and a distant relative, he let them into the wards on the Adam's home. When I figured out what he was going to do I tried to warn them, but by the time I got there I was too late. I only had enough time to get Hope out and hide my tracks so the Death Eaters or the Aurors wouldn't come after me."

Mother of Merlin, I hadn't expected this but now that I look back at all the little things that didn't seem right, perhaps I should have. Auror Kenny had been one of the witnesses at the attack on the Minister of Magic and he had been the one that discovered his abandoned body. Auror Kenny had been the incompetent Auror that had shown up at my house and let my two attackers go free. And it had been Auror Kenny that Hope had remembered and trusted as one of her closest advisors in the past when they had first suspected a rat amongst them. I drop my head into my hands, half hoping she won't go on but I know that she's compelled to finish her confession. She takes another shaky breath before gloomily continuing.

"It was a blessing and a curse when I found out that I had been selected to hold onto her memories. I alone knew what my father really was and I could protect Hope. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to show up at the Adams' funeral, and I blew up at him in front of everyone. But when I had the chance I couldn't reveal to everyone what he was. I wasn't brave enough. My father was everything to me and the most brilliant man I've met. I thought that he might secretly be working to take down Voldemort in some complex plot that involved his betrayal of Hope, but ultimately my father was a weaker man than I would have believed him to be. I found that out tonight when he put the _Imperius_ curse on me and made me kill my friends." She keels over and finally starts to sob. "And in the end I had to kill him so that you could get to the weapon."

A part of me doesn't want to touch her or even look at her ever again, but a stronger part of me feels an overwhelming pity and compassion for this poor girl that was entangled in a snare by a man that should have loved her. I lay my hand on her trembling shoulder and bow my head.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Ophelia. If it had been me…" I trail off and think of my own father, but my wonderful father is an entirely different person of a completely different world.

"You would have done the right thing," Ophelia sniffles. I reach out and stroke her hair as my father or mother might have done when I was inconsolable.

"I don't know what I would have done but I think that there's a thin line between what's right and what's wrong. It's not just black and white anymore. There are a lot of grey areas."

Ophelia looks up at me through her straggly blonde hair and tearful misty eyes.

"You forgive me then?" she asks skeptically. "For what I did to Hope and her family and Rohan and everyone else that I could have saved but didn't because I stayed silent?" I nod because I can see in her tortured eyes that she's already paying dearly for her mistakes and that she'll be paying for them for the rest of her life. In the last twelve hours she lost her best friend and so much more.

"I think the only person you need to forgive is yourself," I tell her and I almost smile because it sounds like something Rohan would have said.

I let her lean on me and rest her head on my shoulder as she cries. I wonder when was the last time her parents had held her like this or if they ever had. I stare into the mesmerizing candlelight and for a half second I almost imagine that I see the flutter of wings.

"I think the firewingers are back," I whisper to her.

Ophelia looks up at me with a watery smile.

"I can feel them," she says softly as she wipes away the last of her tears and pulls herself together. She touches my hand gratefully and squeezes it once before letting go with a long sigh.

"I should get back to Hogwarts. Dumbledore will want to know what has happened, and I have a lot to tell him."

I nod in agreement, glad that someone else is going to get the brunt of the inquisition rather than me. Before Ophelia goes though, I have one last question that I've already asked several times with the same frustrating answer.

"Do you think Grace will pull through?"

"I was afraid you were going to ask me that," she sighs. I look down at my hands wishing that I hadn't asked that question again. Ophelia rests her hand on my shoulder and forces me to look her in the eye.

"Honestly, Lily, I don't know. In a few hours we'll find out, but I have faith in Rohan's abilities."

I know that Ophelia has put too much faith in people before but Rohan was different. Blinking back tears, I let Ophelia leave me with a final pat on my shoulder and listen as the door closes behind her. Only then do I kneel on the ground and reach out to grasp one of the glasses holding a candle that hadn't been lit. I light the wick with my wand, breathing life to the flame, and send out a silent prayer that the firewingers stay with me even after I leave the room behind.

I slip out of the chapel and back into the now nearly empty halls. The few windows I pass are pitch black but if I squint it looks like dawn might be somewhere on a horizon in a distant countryside. Morning is coming and with it comes the reminder that Grace's fate will be decided soon. I board the elevator and ride it back up to the fourth floor. The woman with the tentacles and the wizard guarding the critical door are gone but Sirius is still slumped in his little corridor. He doesn't look up when I approach because he's sound asleep. I lean back against the wall, wondering if James is sleeping in a chair by Gracie's bedside with his father keeping a close loving eye on both of them. I miss James and Gracie. My knees buckle and I slide down the wall until I'm sitting on the floor beside Sirius. Then I close my eyes and try to sleep off this nightmare, hoping the morning will bring an end to it.

* * *

I jolt awake when the clouds part and a bright ray of sunshine strikes me. Blinking, it takes me a few seconds to orient myself and to remember all of the terrible things that led up to this moment. I try to sit up but something's preventing me. Twisting around, I almost jump out of my skin when I see Sirius Black's head on my shoulder.

"Wake up Sirius!" I hiss. Sirius's head lolls to the side and his mouth opens. A whiff of morning breath hits me and I wrinkle my nose. I notice that my shoulder's damp and realize that he's been drooling too. Ugh, he's such a dog.

"_Sirius_!" I reach out with my free arm and shake him awake. He bolts uprights and starts looking around wildly.

"What? What's going on?" He remembers where we are and grabs me by the shoulders. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know I just woke up."

Sirius's face falls. He lets go of me and slumps back against the wall again. Wiping one of his hands on his pants, he turns to me with an odd expression.

"Your shoulder's all wet," he observes.

"You drooled all over me while we were sleeping together," I complain.

A ghost of a grin teases at the corner of his lips as he catches my slip up.

"Finally, I can check your name off my list and brag that I slept with Lily Evans. Kidding, just kidding – _Ow_!"

I backhand him and he scoots away from me holding the arm that I accidentally lit on fire last night. I roll my eyes and then find myself smirking.

"Better not let James or Grace hear you say that. I'm not sure who would kill you first, James or Gracie."

"Oh, definitely Gracie!" Sirius answers right away with a shudder. "That woman is just looking for an excuse to murder me and one of these days she's going to get her chance-" His voice falters and dies as our eyes meet. An uncomfortable silence swallows us up and Sirius clears his throat and looks away. I pull my knees to my chest and hug them against me. I hate this. The waiting only makes it worse.

"You know," Sirius says in a hoarse voice. "I would give anything just to hear her threaten to rip my ear off or to have her beat me senseless with a biting book for no reason at all again."

"If I remember correctly you weren't entirely innocent on either of those occasions," I remind him.

"I did it because I knew she would always come after me," Sirius whispers as if he's just had a revelation.

I sniff and rest my cheek on my knee. In a twisted way it's one of the most romantic things I've ever heard Sirius say before. I think that he honestly loves her. It's a shame that he might have realized it just a little too late.

"Lily! Sirius!"

My heart skips a beat at the sound of that voice. Sirius and I spring to our feet and meet James in the middle of the little corridor. At the sight of James's face, both of us come to a dead stop.

"Well? How is she?" Sirius demands, putting a hand on his shoulder.

James's gaze shifts from Sirius to me. I don't want to look into his eyes and see something that I don't want to see. So, I don't look. Instead I push my head into his chest and wrap my arms around him. I feel his arm come up to encircle me and pull me closer. And then Sirius is there too, and we're all standing in the little corridor, holding onto each other as if somehow together we can keep Gracie from slipping away.

"She's in a coma," James says finally. "They're giving her a week."

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter was boring, but this is my goodbye to all of the characters that have been in my head for the past six years and a lot of loose ends had to be tied up. I promise that even though you'll probably hate me for the first half of the next chapter too, it'll be worth it… I hope. HAPPY HALLOWEEN and CHECK BACK ON NOVEMBER 6****th**** FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER and the last one before the EPILOGUE! Thanks again to everyone that took the time to review. The more reviews I receive the faster I'll update! Also if you have any requests for scenes that you wish I had written from the future or from the past, dealing with Lily and James or Sirius and Gracie or whatever, let me know because I intend to write at least one one shot and it also will influence how the epilogue turns out. Thanks!**


	43. The One Worth Fighting For

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

**Summary: Lily and James get stopped by aurors Hestia Jones and Emmeline Vance. Emmeline heals Lily's head and catches James and Hestia flirting before they floo back to Hogwarts. Lily is jealous of Hestia and upset. Alice and Frank tell them that Sirius thought that they were dead and that there was nothing the healers could do for Gracie at . James and Lily break into staff room and floo to . James flirts with the receptionist in order to get Grace's information and finds his Dad. When she's not allowed to see Gracie, Lily tries to console Sirius but he sends her off to find Ophelia. She finds her in 's chapel and Ophelia confesses that her father, Auror Kenny, was the one that betrayed Hope and put her under the Imperius. James comes back to tell Sirius and Lily that Grace is in a coma and that they're giving her a week. **

**For a more complete summary of the rest of the story please see **_**Chapter 36: Do You Remember?**_

**A/N: Ugh sorry the last chapter was soooo depressing. The first half of this chapter isn't much better I'm afraid but hopefully the ending is worth it!**

**Chapter 42: The One Worth Fighting For**

That week passed by in a fog. I don't remember leaving St. Mungo's when Professor McGonagall showed up later that afternoon to transport Sirius and I back to Hogwarts. I don't remember the interrogation I had to undergo with Professor Dumbledore the next day. I don't remember turning the sword over to him or having a complete meltdown in his office. I don't remember fighting with McGonagall to allow Sirius and I go back to St. Mungo's. I don't remember trying unsuccessfully to break into the staff room in the middle of the night with Sirius and Remus, only to be caught and let go by an oddly emotional Professor Flitwick. I don't remember sitting at Rohan's favorite table in the library and crying until the library closed and Mary Pewter found me on her rounds. I don't remember visiting Tiffany and Eddie in the infirmary or listening to Alice cry all night. I don't remember taking a pair of scissors and chopping McLaggen's hair off when she told Alice to shut up.

I have no recollection of anything that happened to me in that first blurry week without Hope and Rohan. James remained with his family and Grace stayed in her coma, and the miserable week passed without me realizing it.

And then there was the memorial service. I probably would have slept right through that too, but Tiffany was released from the infirmary that day. She threw the banshee out, dragged me out of bed, tracked down Alice's missing cloak, and had the three of us dressed and looking almost presentable when the time came for us to go out to the courtyard where it was being held.

It was a dull, dreary, overcast day, but it was unseasonably warm again. White chairs had been lined up outside on the grass overlooking the Hogwarts lake. Most of the students were already there huddled in groups and embracing one another. I saw a thick knot of Ravenclaws at the center of everything. Close by and mingling with them were the Gryffindors. Alice went directly into Frank's arms. Only three of the Marauders were with him. Remus gave us a sad smile and Sirius glumly shook his head at me. James wasn't there. I dug my feet into the ground and refused to go any further.

"Lily," Tiffany said softly. Her small hand closed around my limp fingers. "Let's sit down."

I barely heard her. As I had started to turn away, fully intending to wrench my hand out of hers and march all the way back to our dormitory, I saw Rohan. He was close to the castle wall, swallowed up in a small crowd of finely dressed adults that were not Hogwarts students.

I found my feet again, and Tiffany had no chance of catching up with me once I started running. A curious thing happened though. When I got close to Rohan he morphed into someone else. By the time I slowed and stopped in front of him, I was looking at an older man with the same sad dark eyes and the same nose but a very different smile.

"You must be Lily," he said softly and held out his hand to me. Dumbstruck, I took it and let him hold my hand between both of his own for a brief moment while he struggled to maintain his smile. "My son told us you were beautiful. He did not exaggerate."

The words cut through me like a knife. The small woman at his side looked up at me with watery eyes that seemed too large for her thin face.

"He wanted us to meet you," she said with a ghost of smile. "I can see why."

At first I didn't know what to say. So, I stepped forward and embraced the small, thin woman that was calm but seemed so frail that I thought she might collapse. She didn't seem surprised when I didn't immediately let go, but maybe she already knew that I was the one that needed something to hang onto. I told her in a whispered choked voice that her son was brave, compassionate, and brilliant, and that they should be proud of him. I wished they could have seen him in his final shining moment as he gave up his life for my best friend. But I was glad that the body had been buried in the mausoleum and that they would never have to see what their son went through in his final hours. I, on the other hand, would see it in my nightmares always.

"I loved him," I told her softly. I wasn't lying. I wished I could have said those words to him when he was alive, because even though I didn't love him in the same way that I loved James, I had loved him as a friend. Her eyes were swimming with tears as I pulled away; and I realized that I didn't have to tell her any of those things because she already knew.

"I'm glad I got to meet you both," I said. I watched them turn away to thank someone else for their condolences.

I was trembling and exhausted but I knew that I owed it to Rohan to be strong and sit through the service. Tiffany was waiting for me. I stumbled toward her and she linked arms with me and steadily guided us through the crowd to the first empty seats she could find. She made Keith Abbott and Dorcas Meadows budge over, and we sat down behind Ophelia leaning on her cross eyed but attentive husband, and a fully recovered Eddie consoling Mary Pewter.

"Hey," Keith whispered to Dorcas, just as the service was starting, "Whatever happened to that girl Hannah Smith?"

I went rigid and Tiffany rested her hand on my arm.

"I think she transferred back to her old school," Dorcas mused with a shrug. "She was something though, wasn't she? I'm going to miss her and Rohan. Hogwarts won't be the same without them," she added sadly.

No, it wouldn't.

* * *

The service was a blur. After it was over Tiffany and I stayed seated, looking out over the lake as the people dispersed. When most of them were gone and the sun looked as if it were struggling to come back out, Tiffany turns to me.

"Lily?"

I don't answer but I turn my head slightly toward her, to acknowledge that I'm listening. She looks down at her hands.

"You know that James and I broke up, right?"

"Oh, really?" I pretend to be surprised. "I'm sorry," I apologize when I remember that that's what friends do when they break up with their boyfriends. But I never was a good actor and Tiffany smirks.

"That's bullshit, Lily. I know you're in love with James."

My face flames and Tiffany actually chuckles, "Finally, the girl admits it." Her smile fades though, and when she looks back out at the lake there's a frown on her face. Once again, I'm at a loss for words. There's a part of me that wants to tell her that she's a bloody idiot for not seeing that James fancied me, but of course I was a fool too. I blush as I recall how Kissy and McLaggen humiliated her last week and that I had snogged James while he was still technically with her.

"Tiffany I-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tiffany snaps. Her voice is clipped and angry but her eyes have a wounded look about them. "Why'd you let me date him when you knew that you loved him?"

"I didn't know," I lie.

Tiffany folds her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow. She can be stubborn when she wants to be and besides she is my friend. She deserves the truth.

"I didn't know until he asked you to go to the party with him," I admit. Tiffany's brow creases in confusion.

"But you told the whole common room that you didn't fancy him."

"I know what I said. But after I said it I realized that I didn't mean it and it hit me. That's when I got jealous of you and I _knew_."

"You should have said something," Tiffany repeats, narrowing her eyes. "I asked you if you fancied him and you said-"

"I'm sorry. I lied. But only because I saw that you were so happy," I confess quietly. I left out the part about feeling sorry for her since McLaggen and Zabini had just screwed her over and her Dad died.

Her expression softens, but the hurt is still there and I think that maybe she knows the truth. She looks away from me again and then smiles sadly.

"I wasn't really that happy," she admits. "I mean we had some good laughs, and yea, I'm not going to lie and say that we didn't do anything, but Lily let's face it, you're the only woman he ever loved." She turns that smile on me and I think that there's a flicker of envy in her eyes. I look down at my hands guiltily. When I look back up, Tiffany's biting her lip.

"Did he cheat on me with you?"

I think of that day in the common room after James turned Rohan into a dragon and how hard it was to walk away from him. But I did it for her and Rohan. Then I blush when I remember her fiercely defending us in the face of McLaggen and Kissy's accusations and how James and I had gone and done exactly what McLaggen and her cronies had accused us of, mere hours after that. At first, I had tried to stop, but somewhere in the midst of fighting for our lives we had given ourselves up to each other.

"Tiffany…" I begin, trying to explain myself.

"You know what?" Tiffany says, holding up a hand to silence me. "I don't want to know. It's in the past, now. But next time I'd rather have the truth from you instead of hearing it from the banshee." She then gets out of her chair and stalks off.

I don't make any move to deny it. I'm done lying to her. If she really wants to know what happened she can ask James. I watch Tiffany's blonde curls disappearing over the hill. I can't blame her for being upset. I'm still not one hundred percent sure I can trust James. Just look at the way he acted with Hestia and all those women at St. Mungos. The fact that he didn't show up for the funeral and I hadn't heard a peep from him since I left him in London didn't exactly help to quiet my doubts. I wish he would at least tell us how Gracie is doing. The thought of Gracie makes me think of Tiffany again. With a sigh, I haul myself to my feet and go after her.

I find her standing on the shore of the lake, well out of the water's reach. A memory strikes me of Tiffany standing in that exact spot almost a year ago, with her arms wrapped around her middle to ward off the chill. Sirius set dungbombs off in the Common Room and Grace was so furious that she chased Sirius out of the castle and into the lake. Tiffany and I had stood on the water's edge watching as Sirius and Grace battled it out in the lake, torn between a sense of justice, amusement and concern. After that Tiffany had broken it off with Sirius, I never asked her why.

I know that she's thinking of that particular memory as well because she blurts out, "I miss Gracie already."

Then she turns around and hugs me. A shock goes through me as I realize that next year it might be just the two of us. I think that's the only reason why we were so willing to let it go so quickly and act as if nothing had happened. Arm in arm and leaning heavily on each other, we return to the castle in silence.

* * *

That night I can't sleep. I get out of bed and tip toe to the windowsill where several months ago I found Gracie mourning her brother and parents' deaths. It seems as if that was a lifetime ago. So much had changed since that night when Tiffany, Alice and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning trying to revive Gracie's spirits. Once again, someone was trying to bring my best friend back to life, but this time there was so much more at stake and this time I feared the battle had been lost. Shutting out those morbid thoughts, I curl up in the window seat and rest my cheek against the cool pane of glass. My breath clouds the glass and I absently trace a name in the vanishing mist.

"_Lily Potter_."

I stare at what I had scrawled and all of the implications that go with it. A hazy image of James materializes before me as I conjure him up from memory. He's clutching a broomstick between his hands, hovering just outside the window with his hair blowing wildly around his head. I press my palm flat against the glass, wanting to touch him more than anything even though I know it's only a ghost from my memory. He lifts one of his hands from the handle and mirrors my action. I close my eyes letting the illusion slowly dissolve as I wipe the delusions of our shared future out with a slight movement of my hand.

The glass rattles beneath my fingers and my eyes snap open. Imaginary James is still bobbing up and down on his broom outside the window. He waves at me and makes a motion with his hand as if he wants me to open the window. Merlin, I really need to get some sleep because there is no way that James Potter is outside my window right now on a broom in the middle of the night.

He lifts his fist and knocks on the glass so hard that I jump about a foot in the air.

"Open the window!" he mouths.

I pry open the latch with shaking fingers. The sharp night air swirls past me and James sticks his handsome head inside. He grips the sill with one hand, casually holding the broom steady as if he isn't hundreds of feet in the air on a gusty night. How does he make everything look so easy?

"What in the wizarding world are you doing?" I hiss, sneaking a look over my shoulder at my slumbering roommates even though I know we won't be overheard. Tiffany's snores are still rumbling through the room and Alice could easily sleep through a nuclear war. The banshee is back sleeping with her slimy Death Eater boyfriend.

"I came to get you," James replies with a roll of his eyes. "Didn't Sirius tell you?"

Vaguely I remember the banshee sulkily informing me this morning that one of the sexy Marauders (she couldn't recall which one) wanted to talk to me. I think I told her to sod off and threatened to shave the rest of her hair off before Tiffany kicked her out. Leave it to Sirius to pick the worst messenger ever.

"Never mind," James sighs, impatiently. "I knew I should've owled you instead."

Yes, you should have, you selfish prat.

"Let me in." I have half a mind to slam the window shut, severing his fingers, but my curiosity wins. I leave the window open and hop down from the window seat.

James climbs inside, dragging his broom behind him. He stands in front of me and pushes his windswept hair out of his bright eyes. The wind had whipped color into his cheeks and his spirits are still soaring from flight. Suddenly, I can understand why girls swoon after Quidditch players – even the nasty ones. It's more than just muscles, there's something about a guy that's just gotten off a broomstick that makes you want to –

"Put on some shoes."

I blink. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind but instead of undressing me, James snags my cloak from the bed post and holds it out for me.

"Are we going somewhere?" I ask stupidly. I turn and let him help me into the sleeves. His hands linger on my shoulders for a moment and he chuckles, "Yes, we're going somewhere. Now, hurry up and get your shoes on. Sirius is waiting for us."

I slip into a pair of shoes, glad that I changed into something comfortable after the service that wasn't pajamas. I move to shut the window, but James has mounted his broom and is waiting in front of it.

"You're flying?"

"So, are you," James says smirking. I'm still recovering from the Cupid Cruiser sled incident when James almost crashed us into a forest full of trees, a crowd of kids, and then the solid wall of the castle. I imagine that flying with James is going to be exactly like that except hundreds of feet up in the air and much more dangerous. This is not a good idea.

"James, I don't really do flying," I admit nervously.

"We're going to have to change that." I must have given him a look because he raises an eyebrow and asks, "You're not scared, are you?"

"No, I'm not afraid," I lie. The corner of his mouth curls up as if he doesn't believe me, but I climb onto the back of the broom behind him before he can say anything. "Where are we going anyway?" I ask, belatedly. I should have asked that first.

"Hold on tight," he answers, grinning. I have just enough time to wind my arms around his middle before we shoot forward.

The window bangs shut behind us as we soar out into the night. My scream is lost in the air, and I bury my face into the back of his cloak.

"Lily, look!" James urges me.

Reluctantly, I open my eyes and peel my face away from his cloak. We're flying over the lake now and the water glitters in the moonlight. I try to focus on how beautiful it is instead of how queasy I feel knowing that there's nothing but a slender piece of wood separating us from imminent death by drowning. James twists his head around to look at me and tries to point something out to me. I'm guessing it wasn't the owl that swooped out of nowhere and nearly took off our head with its talons.

I shriek and James goes into a sharp dive as if he's just seen the freaking snitch. That would be alright if this was a Quidditch match and we were not flying over a body of water! When James rights the broom, I swear my heart jumps into my mouth and my feet skim the water.

"Did you see that, Lily?" He's actually laughing as if it was one big joke and we didn't just nearly die.

I hit him so hard that he chokes on his laughter. I spend the rest of the flight with my head buried into his back, studiously ignoring James's gentle teasing, trying to cut his circulation off, and breathing in his familiar scent. I absolutely refuse to open my eyes or let go until I'm sure that the ground is back under my feet again.

"Oh, come on," James complains as we dismount in front of a locked iron gate. He shoulders the broom and wraps an arm around my trembling shoulders. "It wasn't _that_ bad."

I give him a glare worthy of McGonagall and James wisely removes his hand from my shoulders and steps away. Note to self: I am not going to let James steer ever again.

"You're late," a voice points out grumpily. I spin to see Sirius Black leaning against the gates with his arms folded across his chest. He unhitches himself from his post and comes toward us. Someone else is with him; a small witch with silky brown hair and a friendly heart shaped face. My mood grows sourer.

"There better be a very good explanation for this," I mutter under my breath. James chuckles, "Trust me there is."

"Ready to go?" Hestia asks cheerfully, offering James her arm. "You first." James takes one look at me and my poisonous gaze, and shakes his head.

"Er, Lily hasn't quite recovered from her flight over here. Maybe you could take Sirius and then come back for us?"

"Oh, okay," Hestia gives me a sympathetic smile and links arms with Sirius instead. "Ready?" Sirius nods and then with a loud POP they vanish from view.

Side-along apparition, of course! None of us were old enough to apparate but Hestia obviously is. And now I know where we're going and why all the secrecy was necessary.

"We're going to St. Mungo's!"

"I thought you already knew that," James laughs at me, snaking his arm around his waist to pull me close. When he bends to kiss me as if nothing happened, I turn my face away and extract myself from his arms. Suddenly, I'm angry.

"How was I supposed to know? I haven't heard a word from you since you left. You owled Sirius, but not me. You promised that you'd owl me if anything changed! I was so worried about you and her, James." The pain in my voice is almost tangible.

"All I wanted was two words to let me know that Grace was still breathing. I just wanted something, anything, but you didn't even have the decency to give me that." I fold my arms across my chest, breathing hard. I hadn't expected to explode like that, but it had been building up all week when I was going through hell without him.

"Lily," James sighs and rakes his hand through his hair. "I didn't owl you because I wanted to tell you in person-"

"Then you could have at least came to the memorial service and told me afterward."

James's fingers stop moving through his hair and his eyes widen.

"That was today?"

"Yes, James. Rohan's memorial service was this morning. I know you never liked him but he did die trying to save your cousin," I remind him cruelly. James flinches as if he's been slapped.

"I'm so sorry, Lily. With everything that happened today and all the stuff that I had to do with Hestia, I honestly forgot," he apologizes. He looks genuinely sorry and I'm struck by the exhaustion in his face. But his words are what I latch onto.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure you've been very busy with Hestia," I practically snarl. I can feel myself morphing into an ugly jealous hag, but like James, I'm past the point of exhaustion after this hellish week and can hardly be held accountable for my actions.

"Yes, we've been-"

"Spare me the details. I don't want to hear about your latest sexual conquest!"

"Lily, it's not like that!" James says, reaching for my shoulders. But I've heard this one before.

"I don't want to hear it!" Tears are stinging at the back of my eyes as I try to clap my hands to my ears. But James is faster and stronger than me. He imprisons me in his grasp before I can flee.

"Hestia's just a friend of my family," he explains.

"Oh, I see. And is that all that I am? Just a friend of your family too?" I snap.

James stares down at me in disbelief. His hands tighten painfully around my arms, but I wouldn't have been able to move even if he wasn't holding me in place. I'm waiting on bated breath for the painful truth. And he finally gives it to me.

"I can't believe you, Lily. After all this time and after everything that I've done for you, how can you think that I don't love you?"

My breath comes up short and my heart starts to hammer in my chest. But I can't respond. What am I supposed to say?

"You're brilliant, Evans. We both know that. But you must be the only bloody idiot left in this world that can't see how crazy I am about you. For two years you've been the one that I want, the_ only_ one that I want to be with today, tomorrow, weeks and months from now, hell, maybe even fifty or a hundred years from now. But Lily, I've already done everything that I could to prove it to you, and if you still can't trust me after all that… Then maybe you're not the girl that I fell in love with and this was all just a waste…" he trails off, leaving my head spinning like one of those awful carnival rides that make you want to throw up.

A moment ago, I thought James was ready to cast me off like an outgrown sweater but suddenly so much has changed. I open my mouth and try to say something. _Anything._

"I'm sorry!"

James lets go of me as if he's been burned. Hestia has just popped out of thin air and is standing a few feet away.

"Sorry," she says again, crossing over to us. "I had to get your father because they wouldn't let Sirius in. That's why I wanted you to go first but –" Abruptly her tone changes as she gets close enough to take us in and makes a rough conjecture concerning the situation. "Er, do you guys want a minute?" She jerks a thumb over her shoulder and turns as if to go. "I can come back-"

"That won't be necessary," James says coolly. He roughly pushes me toward her. "Lily will go next."

Before I can protest, Hestia has taken hold of my arm and is telling me to hold on tightly. I blink back tears and desperately try to pull myself together. It feels odd, apparating and very unpleasant. But maybe the unpleasantness had more to do with the last glimpse I got of James's cold eyes. Merlin, how could I have been so stupid?

"Are you alright?"

I look up at Hestia and discover that we're back in the waiting room at St. Mungo's.

"I'm fine," I lie, letting go of her arm. "Thanks," I add, remembering my manners.

"Danny's sitting over there," Hestia says, pointing across the room. "He'll take you to see her, okay?" I follow her outstretched finger and move in that direction without saying goodbye.

When I finally recognize him, Danny greets me with a tired smile. His hair looks more grey than brown in the harsh lighting of St. Mungo's reception area and he moves slowly, like a much older man. I surprise both him and myself by giving him a hug.

"It's good to see you again, Lily," he says as we get into the elevator. I make an effort to smile.

"How's Heather?"

"She's better," he answers me, but it's the same answer that he gave James last week.

I'm too afraid to ask him about Gracie so I don't. Another man in the elevator strikes up a conversation with Danny, and I willingly lapse into silence. On the fourth floor, the man gets off with us, keeping pace with us as we approach the double doors. When we stop outside them, I look up expectantly at Danny and get a good look at the other man. He's a large powerful looking man that I don't think anyone would want to cross. The aura of danger is only increased by a black pirate patch that he wears over one eye. Danny touches my shoulder.

"I have to have a word with Alastor, do you think you'll be alright on your own? It's the second door on the right."

Alastor is sizing me up with his one good eye and I'm more than happy to tell Danny that I can handle it, just so that I can get out from underneath that scrutinizing glare. I can feel his eye following me through the double doors, even after they swing shut behind me.

Following Danny's directions, I make a beeline for the second door on the right. Something makes me hesitate. The door is open just a crack and I peek inside. Everything in the room is white except for Grace's inky black hair on her pillow and the dark cloaked figure bending over her.

Like an angel of death, Sirius Black hovers over her with his hand outstretched. He looks as if he's afraid to touch her but his hand slowly lowers until his finger tips kiss her skin. Delicately, he brushes back some of her hair from her forehead and then he swoops down to press his lips to her forehead. Sheets rustle and Gracie stirs. Sirius recoils before she even opens her eyes and stuffs his hands into his pockets.

"Sssirius?" I hear her slur in a voice thick with painkillers and sleep.

"Gracie." Sirius swallows hard but continues to gaze at her. The intensity in his stare makes me think that I should go, but first I need to know that she's alright. She blinks disoriented and rolls her head to take in the rest of the room.

When her eyes spot me hiding in the doorway her lips curve into a slow smile. I can't help but smile back and in two quick bounds I'm across the room and by her side.

"Hey, Gracie." I take her hand in mine and kneel beside the bed. I want to throw my arms around her but despite her bright smile of recognition, she seems incredibly fragile. While I tell Gracie how much I missed her and how happy I am that she's alive, Sirius quietly backs away from the bed and slips out of the room.

"You are alright, aren't you?" I ask anxiously, covering her hand with both of mine. It's cold and limp but her fingers gently curl around mine.

"Of course I am," she says confidently, but she hasn't moved to sit up and her movements are weak and languid. Even her voice is faint and raspy. Sirius's words ring through my head, "Even if she does survive she'll probably have to spend the rest of her life in ". I viciously tell the voice of worry to shut up and sod off.

"Lily, can you do something for me?"

Her eyes aren't as clear and blue as they used to be. I wonder what kind and how much pain relieving potions they're giving her.

"Sure," I agree, squeezing her hand gently. I feel her lightly return the pressure.

"I want you to tell me everything that happened."

My smile falters. An image of Hope dying in my arms flashes through my mind. I glance down at her daughter, who's been through enough already and who doesn't seem in any shape to receive that kind of news.

"Grace." I can't quite meet her eyes. "A lot's happened and maybe now's not the best time for you to hear this -"

Again I feel the pressure on my hand, harder this time.

"Lily, I need to know. Please."

I sigh and look over my shoulder at the closed door. The healers, Danny, Sirius, James, and everyone else will probably kill me if I upset her while she's in this condition, but my best friend's eyes flash in a way that I'm all too familiar with. She's strong enough to handle it.

"It's a long story…"

"I'm not going anywhere."

I take a deep breath and start from the beginning.

* * *

Grace sat quietly throughout my recital. Often, I'd feel the pressure of her hand against mine when we got to the painful parts. Sometimes she'd ask a question or ask me to clarify something, but she seemed as urgent for me to finish with my tale as I was. When I finished, I told her how sorry I was that she never got to say goodbye to her mother because I never told her who she really was.

But Grace isn't upset with me.

"Lily, you did what you had to do to protect her. Auntie Heather and Uncle Danny were right. I probably would have lost it. Even if I had accepted it as fact, others would have gotten suspicious watching us together."

"I know," I whisper. "But you didn't even get to say goodbye."

"I said goodbye."

My head snaps up and I look at her incredulously. Grace's mouth twists into a rueful smile.

"Don't look so surprised. You're the one that sent her ghost to me with the weapon. I might not be here if it wasn't for her and Rohan."

"Grace about Rohan..." I taper off and then steel myself for the next question. "Do you remember what happened-" But Grace cuts me off before I can say anything more.

"I don't remember anything that happened. The last thing I remember is running to my mother and getting hit by Wilke's curse. My mother, my father, Christopher, and Rohan came to me, but I saw them through a dream."

I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't had to watch Rohan tortured and brutally murdered. I had told her he was killed but I spared her the gory details.

"Well, at least one good thing came out of all of this," Grace says with a yawn.

"What?" I ask frowning. "Oh, you mean the weapon? Yea, I _guess_ it's a good thing that Voldemort didn't take over the world." Grace grins.

"That too. But I was thinking more along the lines of you and James…" She raises an eyebrow suggestively. The heat rushes to my face and I blush hotly. Grace looks as if she might giggle until I tug my hand free from hers.

"You guys are together – aren't you?"

"Not anymore…"

Her hand reaches out and snags my wrist with surprising force for someone that can barely sit up. She forces me to look at her and I see that the stubborn gleam is back in her blue eyes.

"Lily Evans, when I say tell me everything, I mean tell me _everything_. I want details, now."

With another exhausted sigh, I lean my arms on her bed and hastily fill her in on everything else.

"But Hestia's just a family friend," Grace says as if this is something that everyone knows and it's as obvious as the fact that the sky is blue.

"I know that _now_." I glare at her. She's not making me feel any better about this. But then again this is entirely my fault. "Merlin, I'm such an idiot," I moan.

"Yes, you are," Grace agrees helpfully. "You should have noticed him before Tiffany did and gotten together with him months ago."

"Shut up," I grumble. "Unless you're planning on telling me how to fix this mess."

"Well, I assume that you already apologized." When she catches sight of my face and sees that this did not yet occur, she shakes her head. "Lily, I love you dearly, but you are a bloody idiot!"

James had more or less said the same exact thing to me.

"Listen to me closely, Lily." Her eyes flash as she leans toward me. "You are going to stand up, leave this room, and find James. And then you are going to apologize for being insecure and stupid, and tell him again how much you love him and want to be with him. If you come back here without doing any of those things I will tell everyone your best kept secret. Got it?"

"You don't even know my best kept secret," I protest feebly but I discover that Grace's eyes are still frightening even with the painkillers dimming them.

"I do now," she whispers in a dangerously low voice and I have a feeling that another threat is bound to follow. "Scram, Lily." I scramble to my feet and hurry to the door before she can threaten me with something worse.

I stop in the doorway at my own peril though and turn to look at her.

"It's good to have you back, Gracie."

And then with a grin, I leave, knowing that it might take her a long time to get back on her feet, but soon Grace Adams is going to be alright.

* * *

Despite Grace's threats, Tiffany's reluctant blessing, and the realization of my own folly and idiocy, it took me almost a fortnight before I was finally able to track James down and get him alone. For two years that boy seemed to follow me everywhere. But when I suddenly need to find him he vanishes.

Lessons had started up again, and the professors were under the mistaken impression that giving us an impossible amount of homework would take our mind off the recent death of our fellow student. On top of everything else, McGonagall seemed to think that I would be the best candidate to help her select the prefects for next year, and Mary, Eddie and Ophelia seemed intent on keeping me in their N.E.W.T study circle. I was busy, and James made a point of avoiding me on the rare opportunities that did present themselves. Final exams were on the horizon and the year was almost over when at last I found him one evening while doing my rounds.

Fortunately, I had left my fellow prefect, Remus Lupin, patiently outlining the conclusion of an experiment we'd done in Herbology for Tiffany in the library. I agreed to take on the rest of his rounds if he would do what I couldn't and stop the poor girl from having a nervous breakdown.

"Oh, and Lily?" Remus calls after me. "Could you check the Quidditch Pitch too? James has the tendency to stay out there all night unless someone drags him inside."

"Sure, I could do that." I try to be real casual about it, but I don't think I'm fooling anyone.

Tiffany takes one look at my face, glances at Remus, and then snorts into her text book. Remus even has the nerve to wink at me. I give up pretending and break into a full out run before I'm even out of the library.

"THERE WILL BE NO RUNNING IN THE LIBRARY! MS. EVANS!"

Obviously, I ignore Madam Pince's dulcet cries, neglect the rounds that I supposedly promised Remus I'd take care of, and head straight for the pitch.

I didn't bring my cloak and the air is chilly at this hour of night, but I barely notice. I hardly feel my feet touching the ground as I race down the sloping grassy hill toward the giant rings suspended in the sky like a muggle child's bubble blowing wand. A blurring dark object flits in and out of the hoops, circling the pitch. I try to follow it with my eyes but it's moving too fast. Hoping for a better view, I climb up into the Gryffindor stands. I'm panting and struggling to catch my breath when I reach the top.

But James Potter has already landed and is collecting his cloak from where he left it in the bleachers. He looks up startled but his astonishment is quickly replaced by annoyance.

"Finally … found you!" I gasp as I collapse beside him, clutching my side.

"Remus told you where I was, didn't he?" His eyes narrow in suspicion.

I don't answer because I'm trying not to faint from lack of air. After running all the way from the library those stairs were murder. James doesn't wait for my response and mutters a curse.

"That bloody traitor told me it would be a great night for us all to play a game of Quidditch. I should've known better than to listen to him. Remus would rather read a dictionary than play Quidditch." He exhales through gritted teeth and sits down heavily on the bench beside me. "I knew I shouldn't have fed his beloved dictionary to Hagrid's latest pet project. I suppose this is his way of repaying me, sending you here." He glares at me.

"Did you come to tell me I've been naughty?" he asks with a devilish grin that doesn't warm his cold hazel eyes. "Are you going to write me up? Maybe turn me into Filch or McGonagall so I can spend the next few weeks cleaning out the dungeons. Would that satisfy you, Evans?"

"I've been trying to catch up with you for two weeks!" I tell him, when I finally get my breath back.

"You've been following me around and trying to write me up for two weeks?" He raises an eyebrow. "Evans, if that's all you wanted I would've been more than willing to turn some Slytherins into cucumbers, just so that you would have your excuse and quit stalking me."

I have a quick image of Severus Snape and Dante Zabini turning into cucumbers and snort. Where do the Marauders come up with these ideas? I shake the image away before I get sidetracked.

"James, I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" he asks sharply. Even in the darkness I can see that his face is still carefully guarded and I wonder if maybe it's too late. Maybe, everything that I say won't have any effect on him at all. I've hurt him so many times that he's probably so fed up that he's given up on me. I tremble under the frigid gaze, but I boldly plow on because I should've done this months ago.

"Forgive me, James. I was such a bloody idiot to assume those things and I'm sorry I was so afraid to trust you," I apologize, looking down at my clasped hands. They're shaking. The silence stretches on, and on, and I think that I've made a mistake coming here and that Grace was wrong. Because now I remember why I didn't do this months ago, it hurts to confess your best kept secrets. It makes you vulnerable to being broken.

"Do you trust me now?" James asks, lowering his voice.

I look up into his shadowed face and swallow hard.

"Yes, James. That's what happens when you fall in love. You trust another person with your heart. The question isn't whether I trust you, it's should I trust you." I reach out and touch his face. His cheek is surprisingly rough with a five o'clock shadow. The unexpected resistance causes tingles to spread out from my fingertips and travel up my arms. James catches my wrist, gently pulling it away from his face.

"Lily, I'm never going to hurt you," he whispers, replacing my hand on the bench and lacing his fingers through mine.

"Not intentionally. But James…" I taper off wondering how I can put into words how frightening this overpowering feeling is in my chest. "I've never felt this way about anyone. Rohan didn't even come close. It scares me."

James makes a funny noise deep in his chest. Looking up, I realize that he's laughing at me! I yank my hand out from under his and press it to my heated cheek. I just poured out my heart to him and this is what I get in return.

"Lily," James chuckles, snaking his arm around my waist before I can even contemplate leaving. "Lily," he whispers again as he pulls me close, but it's the way that his voice catches that makes me go willingly into his arms. "I'm scared too. You've spent the last two years stomping all over my heart, and yea, I was an arse, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt."

"I'm sorry," I whisper back. The relief I feel after discovering that I'm not alone in this is so profound that I let my head fall back and rest upon his shoulder.

"No, you're not sorry," he chuckles again, squeezing my waist. He leans his head against mine.

"Okay, maybe I'm not sorry for the way I treated you last year," I confess, grinning. "And for most of this year you were still a-"

"I know, you've told me more than enough times," he interrupts me with a groan. "Luckily, I had a big enough ego so that I could handle it."

I giggle and snuggle into his chest. James wraps his other arm around me, enveloping me like a warm blanket. I close my eyes and listen to the gentle thrum of his heart beating so close to mine. His scent - a mixture of his signature cologne, the night air, and the faintest hint of sweat - intoxicates me. I curl my fingers into the front of his shirt and feel the heat radiating from his skin.

"James…" I whisper drowsily.

"Mmm?"

"Does this mean we're, you know, _together_?" I ask hesitantly.

"I'd like to think so…" he murmurs into my hair. My heart flutters and I smile.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I wonder.

James sits up and I straighten up beside him. He cocks his head to the side and behind his glasses I can almost see his gorgeous hazel eyes taking me in. His forehead wrinkles into that adorable confused expression. My eyes wander to his windswept hair and my heart rate quickens.

"What do you mean?" he asks, pushing his glasses back up.

I stretch out my hand and pluck the damn glasses from his nose. I fold them up carefully and put them down safely on the bench behind us. Now, I can see his lovely eyes again.

"Lily?"

"James," I sigh impatiently. "Are you going to kiss me or not?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he says, grinning mischievously. His arms wind around my waist and pull me roughly onto his lap.

I barely have time to relax against him before his lips are on mine. The familiar spark ignites into a fire in my stomach, spreading like a wildfire to the rest of my body. I press closer so that I'm straddling him and slip my arms around his neck. His lips are soft but demanding. Mine open and part beneath his as he deepens the kiss and his tongue sweeps into my mouth. Despite the dropping temperatures, James's skin burns beneath my fingertips and I'm already starting to sweat. I slide one of my hands underneath his shirt and touch the smooth heated skin of his muscular back. My other hand clenches in his soft hair as he trails kisses down my throat, eliciting shivers that go all the way down to my toes. I arch against him and moan with pleasure as his mouth closes over a particularly sensitive spot at the base of my throat.

Merlin, who knew that snogging could be so amazing? James and I had kissed a few times, but we hadn't been together then and we always ended up arguing before it got too far. I had gone further with Rohan, but Rohan had lacked the experience and more importantly the spark of passion that only answered to James's touch.

Remind me again. Why the hell did I fight these feelings for so long?

"I have been asking myself that same question for the last seven hundred and thirty days and I still don't know why," James says with a grin as he moves my hair away from the other side of neck so that he can kiss it. His hand lingers there, tucking a few stray locks behind my ear as he presses his lips to the hollow of my throat. "But trust me," he assures me between kisses. "This is worth the wait."

I tip back my head and laugh. I'm laughing so hard that I slide off his lap and land in the cramped space between the bleachers. James's disheveled mussed up hair looms over me and blocks out the stars.

"Are you alright, Lily?" he asks anxiously.

Still chortling, I reach up and grab a fistful of his shirt, pulling him down on top of me. His hot breath tickles my face and his nose bumps clumsily into mine.

"Sorry," he whispers.

"Don't be, it's fine. Actually, it's more than fine, it's…"

"Perfect?" James finishes for me, smiling against my mouth. "I know."

He's always known. My eyes flutter shut as he kisses me gently, and I thank Merlin that I finally realized what James had been trying to tell me all along. _That he was the one worth fighting for_.

**A/N: THE END! Well, almost. The last chapter is an epilogue and a word of advice: you might want to recall the prologue. Maybe, just maybe you'll get a glimpse of what happens to Lily and James in the years between or even a scene from their seventh year or perhaps I'll save it for a four or five shot sequel dealing with what happens to them and their friends (Gracie and Sirius!) in the aftermath. It's going to be a surprise! But yea do stick around for one more chapter and do tell me what you thought of the chapter or of any scenes that you wished I had included. Again I want to thank all of you for coming back to review. It really means a lot to me since this might very well be the last story at least of this epic proportion that I write. THANK YOU!**


	44. Epilogue

**I'll Fight For You**

**By Hazelmist/Summerskies**

**Disclaimer: The characters can speak for themselves by now. **

**Summary: James stays at St. Mungos with his family while Gracie remains in a coma. Tiffany and Lily go to Rohan's memorial service. Lily runs into Rohan's parents and says her goodbye. Tiffany corners Lily afterwards and they have a discussion about Tiff's now ex-boyfriend James and Lily's past and present relationship with him. They decide to bury the hatchet because of Gracie. James shows up on his broomstick and whisks Lily off to meet Hestia and Sirius. Hestia then takes them one by one to see Grace. When James laughs at her, Lily blows up at him for abandoning her at the memorial service and for flirting with Hestia. James tells her Hestia's just a friend and that he loves her but not if she can't trust him. Lily goes to St. Mungos and finds Grace awake and alert but weak. Grace forces her to tell her everything including what happened with James. Grace then tells her to go and apologize to James and tell him the truth. He avoids her. Lily finally tracks James down one night on the Quidditch Pitch and they confess their fears and their real feelings. Then they make up and finally get together with one hell of a kiss. **

**A/N: If you want to you can skip to the **_**Italics**_** at the end because that was originally the **_**Epilogue**_** but I felt that it was too abrupt jumping in like that. It kind of killed me not being able to go on and on with this story but I know that I would've just gotten tangled up in so many subplots that it never would have ended. Maybe I will write a sequel or some one shots in the future, but it ends here. Sorry if it's late and a bit choppy. These kids weren't easy for me to say goodbye to. **

**Chapter 43: Epilogue**

**OCTOBER 31, 1977**

It's a night to remember. The Great Hall is lit up with hundreds of floating jack o' lanterns. Streamers crisscross the ceiling, confetti rains down on unsuspecting students, and bats swoop down from the enchanted sky, causing the banshee to shriek like her namesake every time one flies too close. Color explodes from the mounds of candies and sweets that weigh down each table. Ghosts dance through the room, laughter rings out, and everyone is smiling. Looking around me, I can't stop the ridiculously wide grin from splitting my own face. I always loved Halloween at Hogwarts, but this year the annual feast is both spectacular and bittersweet because it will be my last.

"What's the matter, Lily?" Grace asks, grinning from ear to ear, and waving her bloodsucker lollipop in front of my face. "You look like you just swallowed a dragon dung flavored Bertie Bott's bean," she observes, sticking the bloodsucker back into her mouth.

"Ugh." I shudder and wrinkle my nose. James sniggers beside me. I know that he's remembering a particularly unpleasant experience in our Fifth Year when he gave me a dung flavored bean that he thought was chocolate. It definitely didn't improve relations between us. As James lays a warm hand on my shoulder, I remember how much has changed since Fifth Year and revert back to my earlier train of thought.

"I was just thinking that this is going to be our last feast." I look around with a rueful smile at Grace – she spent almost the entirety of the summer recovering in St. Mungos – Alice and Frank – they're feeding each other – Tiffany – she is definitely over James and has her eye on another Marauder – Remus – he doesn't have a clue – Sirius – he keeps staring at Gracie when he thinks no one is looking – and finally James – my boyfriend. Even now, months later, I still get a thrill when I think about it because it's so hard to believe that James was right under my nose all this time, though he did have some serious growing up to do.

"I know I can't believe that we survived the last six years," Grace says, playfully pushing Sirius.

It was meant to be a joke, but Sirius pales, and James squeezes my shoulder. Usually it's easy for me to forget that Rohan and Hope were murdered last April, and that Grace spent months recovering from a curse that should've killed her. Sometimes though, the nightmares come back to haunt me. Fortunately, there's someone always there to hold me. I reach up to stroke the back of James's hand, as Grace sticks out a multicolored tongue at Sirius, causing him to laugh and diffuse the tension.

"You boys and your stupid pranks almost got us all killed at one time or another," she says to the Marauders.

"So, says the girl that dragged us into a mausoleum," James mutters under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. I choke back a laugh, because it shouldn't be funny, but James always has a habit of making me laugh. We just get each other.

He cracks a smile and I lean back into his muscular chest. He wraps his other arm around me, causing me to sigh contentedly. Lowering his head, I feel his lips at my temple as the warmth of the kiss spreads through me. He pushes his head into the crook of my neck, nuzzling into it.

"Did I ever tell you how wonderful you are?" he asks me. I grin and turn my head expectantly to meet his.

"Only every other minute," Gracie complains, making a face. Sirius makes a gagging noise and Remus rolls his eyes.

"You guys are worse than Alice and Frank," Tiffany teases, elbowing her best friend.

"What?" Alice turns to Tiffany with glazed over eyes. "What?" she asks again, but it's obvious that her mind is on her boyfriend who's absently twirling a lock of her hair around his finger.

"Never mind Alice, go back to planet Longbottom," Tiffany sighs. Grace snorts as our friend immediately turns back to Frank Longbottom with a love sick gaze that could put any of James or Sirius's ferocious fan club members to shame.

"Now, tell me again what were you saying about James and I?" I ask sweetly. Tiffany shoots Alice an exasperated look and then exchanges glances with Gracie.

"Well, I guess you're the lesser of the two evils," Grace admits grudgingly. "Alice and Frank are always holding hands on the table while they eat, making googly eyes at one another; but they never do anything like snogging."

"Not in public," Sirius mutters, sharing a wicked grin with the boys.

"But you two on the other hand," Grace continues, "you're always kissing each other and getting caught snogging half clothed in -"

I glare, kicking her under the table. She yelps and reaches down to rub her injured shin.

"Well, it's true! Ever since the two of you got together, it's like you can't keep your hands off each other!" Grace exclaims. Sirius wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at James, Tiffany giggles, and even Remus backs Grace up with a sheepish smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

I blush hotly and James rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. We avoid each other's eyes, suddenly finding the bowl of ghoulish pastries in front of us very fascinating. I almost jump out of my skin when under the table, I feel James's hand move to my knee. I sneak a peek at him and can't help but grin. Ignoring the others, James inches toward me and gives me an exaggeratedly loud wet kiss on the cheek. I giggle at the looks on our friends faces who are all watching us. Twisting around on the bench, I make a show of grabbing his Gryffindor tie; violently yanking his face down to my eye level. James dramatically bends me over backwards as he kisses me, and I move my hands up and down his back like I'm in a wild frenzy of passion.

"Ew, Lily, that's my cousin you're sucking face with!" Grace groans.

"My eyes! My virgin eyes!" Sirius gasps, shielding his eyes. "Look away my naïve friends this could get explicit and pornographic!"

"Like _he_ wouldn't know," Remus mumbles to Tiffany, causing her to erupt into giggles again.

"ICK! I'm going to be sick!" Grace declares.

I start to really enjoy myself and go all out, but when one of my wayward knees smacks into James's ribs, he completely loses it. Cracking up, James and I are forced to end our _ravishing_ kiss. Laughing, James helps me sit up beside him. He fixes my hair, smoothing it down and tucking it behind my ears.

"Oh, shut up!" he says to Grace and Sirius when they start making retching noises. "If you had to wait seven years to snog the girl that you fancied, I think you'd be all over her too."

"Maybe," Remus says mischievously, looking at Sirius. "If he had some Gryffindor courage…"

I suck in my breath sharply as my gaze snaps to Gracie. The bloodsucker lollipop slips from her hand, falling into the bowl of ghoulish pastries. She's staring at Sirius with an unhinged jaw. Is it my imagination or does Sirius's eyes dart in Grace's direction for a split second before moving back to Remus with a flash of what might have been surprise. Perhaps Remus had caught him off guard, a rare feat, but Sirius only takes a few moments to recover himself.

"Moony, my friend, when are you going to learn that I am irresistible to all female kind?" Sirius purrs, winking at a group of empty-headed second year girls that were indeed ogling him. They wave at him and hide their blushing faces behind a haunted gingerbread house.

"Oh, _please_! You make yourself out to be some kind of sex god for all womankind." Grace rolls her eyes. She moves her hand as if she's going to put her lollipop back into her mouth, only to discover that it's not there.

"Perhaps that's because I am," Sirius says smoothly, popping his collar.

"Well, I certainly don't agree with that and I'm female!" Grace argues. James and I look at each other. We have to bite our lips to prevent ourselves from laughing because this sounds awfully familiar.

"Neither does Lily-"

"Because she's been secretly in love with the man of her dreams for years," James says, grinning and bringing my hand to his lips. "She was just too stubborn to admit it." I smile and shake my head. Some things never change.

"Well, I guess that nixes Alice too, but Tiff-"

Grace stops as Sirius winks at Tiffany and her argument blows up in her face.

"That was a long time ago," Tiffany protests, blushing. "Besides _I_ did break up with you." Many girls had gotten dumped by Sirius, but Tiffany had set some kind of Guinness World Record when she became the first and only one to break up with _him _in our Fifth Year.

"All right, so you've had a lot of girls…" Gracie surrenders.

"I've had every girl I've ever wanted." Sirius smirks. "And they've always said that I was amazing."

"Oh, really?" Remus drawls. "I beg to disagree, Padfoot. I think that there is one girl here that you've always wanted but that you're too frightened to approach."

To my surprise, Sirius only hesitates for a moment before throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Okay, fine. I admit it!"

James's hand tightens around mine as we all look at Gracie. She's so focused on Sirius that she doesn't notice that she's pouring pumpkin juice instead of gravy onto her mashed potatoes.

"I admit that secretly…" Sirius lowers his voice so that we're all forced to lean closer. Grace is so far over the table that I'm pretty sure she's got mashed potatoes down the front of her robe. "Secretly… I'vealwayssortofhadathingfor… Professor Trelawney."

"WHAT?" Tiffany, Remus, Grace and I burst out in unison. James spits out his pumpkin juice, spewing it all over Peter Pettigrew who's just arrived.

"The Divination professor?" I gasp in horror, glancing up at the staff table where the professor sits staring up at the ceiling through humongous glasses, swaying back and forth. No doubt she's had more than her fair share of sherry tonight.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Padfoot, she's bat shit CRAZY!"

"I know," Sirius moans, dropping his head into his hands. "It's always the ones that are completely mad that drive me insane." I could've sworn that he peeked between his fingers at Gracie.

"'S all right Padfoot," Peter says, rubbing Sirius's shoulder. "No need to be embarrassed, I think she's ravishing."

"You do?" Sirius asks. His hands fall away from his face as he looks up at his friend.

"I've sent her a valentine every year. Even tried to proposition her once, but she kept telling me that I had a loveless life of betrayal and loneliness before me," Peter recalls miserably.

All of us stare at the heartbroken, pumpkin juiced Peter Pettigrew as if he's a strange creature hailing from outer space. Then Sirius bursts out laughing.

"Hate to break it to you mate," he chortles, slapping Peter on the back. "But I was joking about Trelawney. I don't actually fancy the crazy old bat – _ugh_-" Sirius glances up at the staff table where Professor Trelawney is actually present for once. Repulsed, he pulls free from Peter with a shudder. Now, we're all laughing at poor Peter. The boy forces a weak chuckle but he's hurt. I stop laughing because I actually feel sorry for him and his loveless future.

"Here Petey," James says taking pity on him. He hands him a napkin. "You're drenched with pumpkin juice." I feel a rush of gratitude toward James. He's changed so much from that bullying toe rag I took pleasure in turning down years ago.

Peter accepts the napkin, looking gloomily down at his stained robe.

"Take a seat." I scoot over, pulling James closer so that's there's an opening on the bench between Sirius and James.

"Er – shouldn't we all be heading back to the Common Room?" Peter asks, hesitating.

"What? And let all this wonderful food go to waste!" Sirius is clearly appalled at the idea of leaving a single sweet uneaten. "That's unethical!"

"Oh, I didn't think about that." Peter's eyes widen and he gnaws on his lower lip. When James offers him a ghoulish pastry he backs away.

"Something you want to tell us, Peter?"

"Well – er – now, don't get mad," Peter says in a low voice, nervously looking at my Head Girl badge before turning his back on me. "But you know that _thing _we were talking about the other day..."

"Oh, you mean the prank that we were going to – _Ow_! Prongs, I think you just cracked one of my ribs!" Sirius rubs his side, glaring at James. Peter fidgets and glances in my direction again, before lowering his voice to a whisper. The boys huddle around him while Grace, Tiffany and I share a mutual roll of our eyes.

"Marauders," I mutter, shaking my head.

"Peter!" James groans. "I told you it was a bad idea that would go horribly wrong!"

"I know what you s-said," Peter stammers. "But I- I just thought-"

"All right tell us where you put them and we'll try to reverse the damage," Remus sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"That's the thing, they're – er – kind of out of control…" Peter's twitching as if he's about to have some kind of seizure.

"Define out of control," Sirius says slowly. "Is it like Third Year prank of horror out of control? Or Grace Adams-on-a-rampage-to-kill-me out of control? _OW_!" Sirius clutches his head where Grace's goblet struck him after she threw it.

"Er – guys we should go before–" Peter squeaks, ducking behind James as another flying object narrowly misses Sirius.

"You're only proving my point!" Sirius smirks at Grace. "You have serious anger management issues, and when you get angry you're like a runaway train-" Sirius breaks off swearing as Grace's spoon strikes the middle of his forehead. "Sweet Circe's naughty-" He stops when the table starts shaking and Grace pales.

There's a rumble throughout the Great Hall like thunder. Laughter abruptly turns to shrieks and screams as the Great Hall suddenly explodes into a blinding rainbow of sweets and fire. Every dish of candy seems to have been transformed into an individual volcano. The dishes are in flames and the candy arcs up into the air above us, mingling with enchanted jack o' lanterns and bats. Like giant confetti, the cloud of sweets hangs over us for a moment before the law of gravity brings it down. In slow motion I watch this sweet rain pour down upon us.

"GET DOWN!"

James's arm tightens around me as he swiftly pulls me off the bench and underneath the table. I cling to him, still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Candy and sweets shower down upon the table top, falling with a rhythmic thumping. It almost seems like a childhood dream come true, but it's accompanied by the howling of the banshee and the sickening smell of something burning. The sight of flames licking along the Hufflepuff table turns my blood cold.

"They're on fire!" I gasp.

James moves away, telling me to "stay put". Of course, I ignore this order and crawl out from beneath the table with him. We get to our feet and assess the situation. It's not as bad as it looked. I think most of the students got out of the way in time, but the Hufflepuff table is in flames and the flicker of fire is present at the other three tables as well. People start clambering out from underneath tables, benches, and their human shields. The banshee's already screaming about her ruined hair, and Grace's yelling at Sirius.

"BLACK YOU ALMOST BLEW UP THE GREAT HALL!"

"I didn't do it this time! _Seriously_!"

James and I share a brief glance.

"I call dibs on Hufflepuff," James says, seizing the challenge.

"I'll start with Ravenclaw," I decide, squeezing his hand. "Once I finish, I'll be back to stop Grace and Sirius from killing each other, and to clean up your sorry charm work."

"We'll see about that," he mumbles. Grinning, we split up to take care of business.

* * *

Fresh out of the shower, I'm still shaking my head at the latest prank from the infamous Marauders, and trying to get the smell of burning sugar out of my nostrils. I run a hand through my damp hair as I pad down stairs to the sitting room. One of the many perks of being Head Girl is that you get your own living quarters. It includes your own bedroom, a private sitting area, and a bathroom. I was ecstatic when I got the badge over the summer and found out that I wouldn't have to spend another year rooming with Debbie McLaggen – the banshee. I miss living with my friends, but the fact that I share a dormitory with the handsome Head Boy definitely makes up for it. At the sight of him lounging in front of the fire reading the paper, my heart actually flutters. I sneak up behind him, ruffling his soft hair and breathing in the smell of his fresh cologne.

"Hello beautiful," the Head Boy greets me with a slow grin. He tosses aside the _Daily Prophet _as I perch on the arm of his chair.

"I was beginning to wonder if you drowned in there," he teases.

I make a face.

"I smelt like a burning gingerbread house," I complain, combing my fingers through my hair again.

"I happen to love gingerbread." He leans toward me so suddenly that I almost lose my balance and topple off the armrest. His arm slides around my waist, steadying me. I catch at his shoulder, pulling us closer. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

"You do smell like gingerbread," he whispers, opening his eyes. His eyes are darker now and he's got that lazy, seductive smile that comes so naturally. My heart beats faster. I'm wondering if maybe I should take another shower, when he reaches up to cup the side of my face. His hand caresses my cheek, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip. I lose my breath as he takes up the last of my breathing room and kisses me.

I close my eyes, melting into his warm embrace. Without breaking the kiss, his other arm encircles me, pulling me down from my perch on the arm rest and into his lap. I make a noise in the back of my throat as I reach up to clasp his neck and deepen the kiss. I can feel my body warming to his as the kiss becomes more urgent. I stretch up to bury my hands in his soft thick hair. My shirt rides up, exposing my skin to the cool air and his questing fingers. His fingers, his hands, his whole body heats me like a fire in the common room on the coldest of winter evenings. I can't get close enough to him because even though my body reacts as if it's been burned, at the same time it's like that fire on the hearth; bringing you back to safety, comfort, and home. He groans and tries to shift our position so that we're both closer and more comfortable; but a former Headmaster did an excellent job of picking out the smallest, most uncomfortable chairs for this sitting area; probably to discourage the Head Boy and Girl from engaging in this kind of inappropriate behavior. The Head Boy, though, always did have a passion for breaking the rules, and the Head Girl has a secret weakness for rebels.

Despite my desire for rebellion, when the portrait creaks open and hits the wall with a slam and a blood curdling scream from the hag in the frame, I immediately break apart from the Head Boy and spring to my feet.

"For Merlin's sake don't you knock!" I yelp.

"Didn't I tell you? I told you they'd be snogging again!" Grace says triumphantly, poking Sirius who's trying to get the portrait of the hag to calm down and shut up. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Lily. Perhaps McGonagall and Dumbledore believe that all you two do in here is hold hands, but you're not fooling us."

Sirius coughs. "And you might want to fix your shirt." He winks, gesturing to my disheveled appearance.

I blush, yanking my shirt back down. I turn my back on them to fix myself up, and my eyes fall on my partner in crime's wrinkled shirt, crooked spectacles, and messy mop of black hair.

"I didn't give him the password this time, I swear!" James says defensively, lifting his hands.

"I know you didn't," I sigh, smacking my palm against my forehead. I collapse into the matching armchair facing James's. "I gave it to Gracie yesterday so she could get the books she left here after our study session. I didn't think I would have to change it." I glare at the pair, folding my arms over my chest. I love the two dearly, but I do cherish my privacy from time to time as well.

"Fine, next time we'll knock," Grace promises with a grin that's a little too much like the one that Sirius gives McGonagall when he's promising that this will be their last prank. They've been spending so much time together lately that I think he's rubbing off on her.

"There will be no next time," James says in his Head Boy tone, reaching across to take my hand in his. "This is our room."

Grace and Sirius ignore him of course. Grace throws herself down on the remaining armchair like she owns the place. Sirius plops himself down in her lap. She gasps in surprise as Sirius then curls into her, resting his head on her shoulder. The surprise quickly evaporates as her face reddens.

"Sirius," Grace says, between gritted teeth.

"Yes, Graciepee?" Sirius asks, gazing up at her and batting his eyelashes girlishly.

"Get. Off. Now."

"But I'm very comfort – _oomf_!" She shoves Sirius off of her, giving him an extra kick for good measure. Sirius scrambles to his feet and hides behind James's chair. I roll my eyes.

"What was it that was so important that you didn't bother to try knocking first?" I ask.

"Oh, but we did knock. You guys must've been too _busy_ to notice that someone was banging on the door -"

James loudly clears his throat and I interrupt Gracie before she can mortify us.

"So, what's up? Is it a matter of life and death? Are you bleeding?"

"It_ is_ a matter of life and death," Sirius answers with a grave seriousness that does not match up with the mischievous glint in his eyes. "There's a huge party raging in the Gryffindor Common Room and Gryffindor's four most beautiful people are not present. We have to get back right away and you two must come with us," he orders, mockingly adopting James's voice of authority.

"Sirius, we're the Head Boy and Head Girl, how many times do we have to tell you that we have to set an example and that we can't just –"

Grace claps a hand over my mouth and uses her other hand to forcefully drag me to my feet.

"You can tell McGonagall we kidnapped both of you," she offers.

"But-" I protest feebly. James is already on his feet, moving toward the portrait with Sirius. When I look to him for help he just grins and mutters something about being "coerced at wandpoint". Thanks a lot, James.

"Oh, come on, Lily! It's Tiffany's birthday bash!" Grace insists.

Three pairs of eyes look back at me, silently pleading with me not to ruin their fun. There's a hidden threat in Grace's eyes that terrifies me, but Sirius and James are giving me cute puppy dog eyes. It's James's adorable pout that finally breaks me. Damn him; he should have came with a warning label.

"All right, fine. Just this one time." But I know this won't be the last time that I give into James. I have a weakness for that handsome face of his. James hugs me with so much enthusiasm that I'm literally swept off my feet. I'm laughing by the time he sets me back down. Hand in hand we follow our "kidnappers" back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

* * *

It's not until later that I realize that Tiffany's birthday is in July and not for another nine months.

It's almost two in the morning, and by the light of the dimming flames, I can see that the party that was in full swing only an hour ago is dying like the fire burning low in the grate. Six tipsy stragglers are left, passing around a bottle of _Sir Bottlebum's Wicked_ _Rum_ that the Marauders smuggled into the castle from Hogsmeade. I probably should be more ashamed to admit that the Head Boy and I are among them.

"Happy Birthday to me!" Tiffany sloppily takes another drink from the bottle. With the exception of Sirius and Grace (who claimed the sofa hours ago and seem to be getting closer and closer to one another with each sip of liquid courage) we're all sitting on the floor for some odd reason, propped up against each other, and the legs of the sofa. Despite the fact that I'm sitting squashed between Tiffany and James on the cold hard floor, a lazy comfortable lull has settled over me and everyone else that may or may not have to do with the amount of alcohol we've consumed between us.

"Happy birthday toooooo meeeeee!" Tiffany singsongs, sloshing the rum down Remus's shirt. He jolts awake. "Oh, sorry, Remy!" She claps a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Dazedly, he glances down at his stained shirt, and then he laughs. "Leme fix it!" She paws at his shirt, and spills more of the alcohol as she gropes for her wand.

"I think that you've had enough," I say, snatching the bottle back. Remus _scorgifies_ the mess with an easy flick of his wand. Tiffany then attempts to take up her off-key rendition of happy birthday for the hundredth time, but James and I beg her to shut up.

"But it's my birthday!" she argues, sulkily making a grab for the bottle. Remus reaches out for her waist, pulling her back to his side.

"I know it's not your birthday." I hold the bottle hostage, clutching it to my chest. "Your birthday's in July," I reveal with a smug smile. Sirius lazily reaches down, plucking the bottle out of my reach and sucking it dry before Tiffany can have any more of it.

"So? That doesn't mean we can't celebrate it now," Tiffany whines. "We've never celebrated my birthday before and we probably never will."

Tiffany's always coming up with excuses for a party and whining about the silliest things; but for some reason this complaint makes me sit up a little straighter so that I can look at her.

"What do ya mean?" I ask, frowning.

"Well, this is it… the end," she says softly.

"The end?" James lifts an eyebrow, looking both amused and puzzled. "The end of what?"

Tiffany tries to articulate a reply, stammering something about us not seeing each other after Hogwarts, about people moving on, about something bigger than all of us looming on the horizon, but nothing is making sense.

"Everything's going to be different. We're never going to see each other," she says miserably. That gets everyone's attention. Grace opens her eyes and Sirius picks his head up off of her leg to peer down at the girl stumbling over a frightening future that's coming alarmingly closer.

"Tiffany, stop." I touch her shoulder, brushing over the arm that Remus tossed around her shoulders and has yet to remove. I can feel the reassuring warmth coming from James's body wrapped around mine. Grace's foot accidently collides with my shoulder blade as she shifts closer, and the sofa springs creak behind me when Sirius props himself up to listen.

"Just because we're going to leave Hogwarts it doesn't mean that we're not going to see each other anymore," I say.

"You think we will?" Tiffany asks shyly. Suddenly, I'm struck by a memory of a smaller girl, sitting all alone in a graveyard after she lost her father to a murderer that's still at large. A dark tunnel of memories threatens to open up before me, but James's warm cheek presses against mine. At least I have James. I was never a believer in Divination but I have a feeling that I'll always have James.

"Of course we'll see each other," Remus says, squeezing her shoulder. "And next year we'll celebrate your birthday, for real," he promises.

"Really?" She smiles up at him hopefully. Remus nods, smiling back at her. Tiffany stares at him for a moment, and then she hugs him.

"Where do you think we'll be one year from now?" Tiffany muses, resting her head on Remus's chest. "Do you think we'll all work in the same place? And where do you think we'll be in two years? Who do you think will get married?"

"Lily and James," Sirius, Grace, and Remus all answer at the same time, causing James and I to blush. I bury my face into his neck to hide the grin of guilty pleasure that spreads across my face.

"What about in three years? Do you think they'll have kids? Where do you think we'll be in four years or-"

"Tiffany," Grace laughs, "we haven't even graduated yet."

"But don't you ever think about where you'll be in four years?" Tiffany wonders, twisting around to look up at her. Grace rolls her eyes, and looks away; but Sirius leans forward, squinting at Tiffany.

"Damn. You're one of those weird sentimental nostalgic drunks that talks too much, aren't you?" he says disapprovingly.

"I'm not drunk!" Tiffany insists, clumsily drawing away from Remus.

"I would've never have gotten you drunk if I knew you were one of those boring philosophical emotional drunks. Personally, I was hoping you'd be a horny drunk," Sirius mumbles just loud enough for all of us to hear.

Tiffany's jaw drops and Grace hits Sirius so hard that I think I might have heard something break. Sirius curses and clutches an arm to his chest as if he's been mortally wounded.

"Sweet Merlin, if I wasn't completely sloshed right now I think that all of my bones might have shattered!"

"Trust me if I wasn't pissed, they would be," Grace growls.

"I was only trying to help a mate out," Sirius says, reaching down to ruffle Remus's hair. "See Remus here needs something stronger than liquid courage when it comes to snogging the girl he fancies." Remus's eyes widen and he turns a brilliant shade of red that has nothing to do with the alcohol we've all consumed. Tiffany is strangely bewildered.

"Sirius," Remus says loudly, shooting Tiffany a panicked look. "Shut up!"

"So, I thought why not get Tiff drunk and then maybe she can go snog Moony-" Grace lunges at him, trying to get her hand over Sirius's mouth before he embarrasses Remus. At the same time Remus hits him, sending him reeling. Grace and Sirius smack into each other hard, catching at one another to keep themselves from falling off the sofa. It's quite comical, watching how their arms wrap around each other in a way that's so awkward that it makes me want to cringe. At the same time though, it seems as if their bodies are two magnets, drawn toward each other and stuck upon contact.

"I knew it!" Sirius exclaims, grinning like a maniac. "I knew it. I knew-" Sirius breaks off in yowl of pain as Grace grabs a fistful of his shaggy mane. He pushes her off of him, shoving her up against the pillows. Her blue eyes flash dangerously.

"Here we go again," I whisper to James, reaching for my wand in case things get ugly. But my wand is forgotten as Sirius does something he's never done before. He kisses her.

I gasp, and James goes rigid beside me. All of us hold our breath, wondering if this will be the end of Sirius Black. But she doesn't kill him. To my amazement, the slender fingers that are fisted in his hair, slacken and curl loosely around the back of his neck. Instead of pushing him away, her other arm slides up and around his shoulder, pulling him closer. Before I can get too excited, Sirius tears his mouth away from hers, breathing hard. I watch Gracie closely. She's frozen in place and her eyes are locked on Sirius.

"Black," Grace whispers.

"What?" Sirius asks hoarsely.

"Why'd you do that?"

"I thought you were planning to kill me." Sirius laughs nervously, shakily pushing his hair back from his forehead. "You drive me bloody insane when you get mad like that becauseyoulooksofuckinghot," he blurts out so quickly that I'm not sure if anyone understood him.

"I am going to kill you," she says, seizing his chin and roughly pulling his face down to her level. "But not right now." And then she kisses _him_.

"FINALLY!" I shout. "It's about damn time!"

Remus wolf whistles, James whoops, and Tiffany squeals so loudly that I think I have permanent hearing damage. Grace pushes Sirius away just long enough to tell us all to shut up and sod off before she changes her mind and decides to _Avada Kedavra_ all of us. James and I don't waste any time, helping each other up and racing for the portrait, leaving Remus to save himself and the giggling drunken Tiffany. James and I sneak through a hidden passageway, chase each other up a moving staircase, and tiptoe down the hall to our private quarters without meeting a single soul. We were lucky that Filch wasn't about because James and I kept randomly bursting into laughter as we recounted what just happened.

"So, where do you think we'll be in four years?" James asks, mimicking drunk Tiffany as we step back into our sitting area.

"Well, I'll be married of course," I predict, moving to the staircase.

"Oh, really? Got a husband in mind?" James follows me upstairs to my bedroom door. I stop with my hand on the knob.

"Yep, he's tall, handsome, brilliant but egoistical, athletic and sexy but has a terrible sense of direction-"

"Hey, that was one time that I crashed us into a wall-"

"Who said I was talking about you?" I ask smiling coyly as I let myself into the bedroom.

James's breath hitches, but then he grabs me so fast that I wouldn't have had time to react even if I had wanted to. He spins me around and playfully pushes me down on to the bed. I can't believe that even after all these months he can still take my breath away with a touch.

"I won't let anyone else marry you," he says, pinning me down beneath him. "No one else could possibly love you more than I love you."

"So, you're going to marry me?" I whisper, raising my eyebrows.

"Of course I am," James says, as if this is the more obvious than the fact that the sky is blue. He gently kisses my forehead and I close my eyes. I feel his butterfly kisses on my eyelids, on the tip of my nose, and then my lips. His lips brush over mine but then he pulls back. I open my eyes and find him gazing down at me with those shining hazel eyes of his as he smoothes my hair back from my forehead.

"I'd like that," I tell him, reaching up to play with his hair.

"Good," James says. "That's all I want. As long as I have you to myself, I don't care where I end up in one year, two years, three years, four years or whatever. I just want you."

I grin and cup the back of his neck, pulling him back down to me. We share a slow, languid good night kiss. When he moves to leave, I hold onto his wrist. I don't want him to go.

"Stay with me for a little while longer," I offer, looking up at him pleadingly.

He smiles, takes off his glasses and kicks off his shoes. I pull off mine too, tossing them beside his. I take his hand, lacing our fingers together. We lie back down on the bed, side by side and still in our clothes. James scoots closer, resting his other hand on my hip.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he whispers, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Only every other minute," I answer, mimicking Gracie. James laughs, but I'm only half joking. He doesn't have to tell me that he loves me. I can see it in his eyes every day. I watch as his eyes close and I think about what he just said. Sure, he's a little drunk, but I have a feeling that he still means every word. Being with James it just feels right. He's the one, the only one. I know it. As I drift off to sleep I know my dreams will be filled with the answers to Tiffany's sentimental question. In a year I can see us getting engaged, in two years we'll be married, in three maybe we'll start thinking about kids, and in four… I drift off to sleep, dreaming of James.

* * *

**FOUR YEARS LATER - OCTOBER 31, 1981**

_I fought for you until there was nothing left in me. And now I'm going to die. _

_They say that before you die, time comes to a standstill and your whole life flashes before your eyes. But no one really knows anything about life and death. I saw a year flash before my eyes in a series of moments. I saw smiles and heard laughter. I felt tears that had already been shed and holes in my heart that had never quite healed. I remember dancing and whirling through a dormitory that would always be home with friends that would forever be my sisters, and I can vividly recall every touch, every hug, and every detail of that passionate kiss that made me believe that I had found the man worth fighting for. I quickly discover that a life can be summed up in a matter of moments. _

_In the end, Harry, as I watch my life flash before my eyes and fight for you in my last dying breath, there are only two things that stand out in my mind: you and your father. _

_I started to fall in love with your father on that bright September morning when I slammed into him outside my bedroom and almost gave him a concussion, though I didn't know it at the time. When he lost his family and I watched my best friend crumble, I was the one that he held onto and he comforted me as we sat crying on my kitchen floor. It was the first time that I really looked at James and saw that there was more to him than a bullying toerag that was always asking me out, and it was the first time that I realized that we could stop the world from crashing down around us just by holding onto each other. I remember sneaking out with him to look at the stars, standing with him at the funeral, making that ridiculous bet with him in the guest room afterwards, and in case you're wondering, yes, Harry, your father did become Head Boy but I was more than happy to accept my loss and go on that once dreaded date with him. The return to the Potter's home, the night we were trapped in the mausoleum, an afternoon spent lying in the snow, a first kiss shared beneath the mistletoe, waking up to James after the attack on the train that nearly killed me; made me realize that I was in love with him. It took me a long time to accept it. There was another boyfriend before your father, and more than one girlfriend before me; and there were tears, and arguments, and stupid mistakes; but when I finally realized after that terrible battle in the mausoleum that James had grown into the man that I love, well, there was really nothing that anyone could do to keep us apart. When we got together that night at the end of our sixth year in the Gryffindor stands, that was only the beginning of a love that would only grow stronger with each passing year. _

_I think James always knew that our time together would be short because he asked me to marry him right out of Hogwarts. The wedding was small and hastily thrown together but it was perfect. You should have seen the look on your father's face when I walked down the aisle. I'm not going to lie and say that our life together was perfect after that. We lived in the midst of a war and nearly everyone that we loved was on the front lines. Death, loss and grief were frequent visitors as one by one our brave comrades walked out of this life and into the next. And there were things that were worse than death, like backstabbing betrayal and constant fear that one night your father wouldn't come back. But we had each other and that was enough. _

_Harry, your father became everything to me and I already knew that I was his whole world. I didn't think that there was anyone that would come between us dying for each other. But the day that you were born Harry, all that changed. I can remember the dazed look in your father's eyes when he saw you, and then the healer laid you in my arms and I immediately fell head over heels in love with you too. From that day onward, it was you, me, and James. It didn't matter that we had to go into hiding or that you had been born into a world at war, all you had to do was breathe and my heart would ache with the amount of love I felt for you. Every day that I was with you Harry was a happy one, even today, even after I had to leave your father and listen to him die, this day will still be one of the happier ones because today, Harry, you are going to survive. _

_I'm so sorry that your father and I have to leave you, Harry. But it's the only way. Somewhere in the midst of those memories that flashed before my eyes, I saw something. I saw a bond between a mother and her child, a bond that someone brilliant once told me was so powerful that it could transcend death. Because love, Harry, is a magic that Voldemort never understood. _

_I know all about love though. I love James and I love you, Harry. Don't you ever forget that Harry. Don't ever forget that we loved you. _

"**AVADA KEDAVRA!"**

_Time speeds up again. Everything's green and glowing except for two pin pricks of red; the chilling eyes that have haunted my nightmares for years, the eyes of the murderer of my husband, and so many more. I almost smile at my murderer as my heart instantly stops. Because he doesn't know that I found a way to keep fighting for you, even after I'm gone. _

**The End**

* * *

**A/N: It took me a just over six years but eventually I FINISHED! Almost 300,000 words, two different websites, 1500 reviews, and over 175,000 hits from around the world - wow, just wow. I'll never write anything that will reach that many people again. I can't believe it's over and I can't believe I DID IT. It feels so good to be done but I'm going to miss you guys so much, especially those that stuck with me from the beginning and those that made me laugh or cry or made me a better writer with their review. I hope that if I do end up writing some one shots in the IFY universe (if you have any requests let me know) or another Lily and James story that you'll drop me a review and tell me what you think and how you're doing. It would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much, I couldn't have done it without you! I'll miss you!**


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